KAMRAN SULAIMANI , Indian Express Posted: Dec 27, 2008
Vadodara:
Vadodara:
Meghalaya team, led by CIC, to study state’s initiatives for adaptation
Unlike other states, nearly 70 per cent of the inquiries and applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in Gujarat have been filed from the rural areas, according to an analysis report of Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP).
Impressed by the effectiveness of the RTI Act in Gujarat, a team from Meghalaya is to visit the state to implement the Gujarat model of RTI there. "A team, including the chief information commissioner, will be coming to Gujarat shortly to know the various initiatives taken here with respect to the RTI," said Harinesh Pandya, member of MAGP, a collective of individuals and civil society organisations.
"In Meghalaya, there is no district panchayat. It has a system of local self-governance with traditional chiefs working in the districts. This makes it a little difficult to get information under RTI," he added.
Gujarat has been one of the top performers when it comes to implementation and providing information under the RTI Act, Pandya pointed out, adding: "The preliminary data of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information ranks Gujarat second after Meghalaya."
He went on to say that despite having only one chief information commissioner, Gujarat has been able to implement the RTI Act "quite effectively".
He said that MAGP has come up with innovative ways of creating awareness about the RTI. "We have started a helpline, while the Saturday legal clinic has been initiated for the cases that could not be resolved on RTI helpline and RTI on Wheels," he said.
The MPAG helpline in Gujarat gets phone calls seeking help to file RTI applications. MPAG, thereafter, takes up the matters with the RTI commissioner and other Government departments. The organisation has been tracking the calls since their inception and found that rural Gujarat has been more pro-active in seeking information under the RTI through them.
The most sought information (16 per cent) is on land from the Revenue department followed by information sought from courts, co-operative banks and societies, and education related information (7 per cent).
Not only Gujarat, people from states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan have also been calling up the helpline to know the procedure of filing RTI applications. Of the total 34,071 phone calls responded (up to December 12), 90 per cent were from Gujarat and 10 per cent from other states.
Unlike other states, nearly 70 per cent of the inquiries and applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in Gujarat have been filed from the rural areas, according to an analysis report of Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP).
Impressed by the effectiveness of the RTI Act in Gujarat, a team from Meghalaya is to visit the state to implement the Gujarat model of RTI there. "A team, including the chief information commissioner, will be coming to Gujarat shortly to know the various initiatives taken here with respect to the RTI," said Harinesh Pandya, member of MAGP, a collective of individuals and civil society organisations.
"In Meghalaya, there is no district panchayat. It has a system of local self-governance with traditional chiefs working in the districts. This makes it a little difficult to get information under RTI," he added.
Gujarat has been one of the top performers when it comes to implementation and providing information under the RTI Act, Pandya pointed out, adding: "The preliminary data of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information ranks Gujarat second after Meghalaya."
He went on to say that despite having only one chief information commissioner, Gujarat has been able to implement the RTI Act "quite effectively".
He said that MAGP has come up with innovative ways of creating awareness about the RTI. "We have started a helpline, while the Saturday legal clinic has been initiated for the cases that could not be resolved on RTI helpline and RTI on Wheels," he said.
The MPAG helpline in Gujarat gets phone calls seeking help to file RTI applications. MPAG, thereafter, takes up the matters with the RTI commissioner and other Government departments. The organisation has been tracking the calls since their inception and found that rural Gujarat has been more pro-active in seeking information under the RTI through them.
The most sought information (16 per cent) is on land from the Revenue department followed by information sought from courts, co-operative banks and societies, and education related information (7 per cent).
Not only Gujarat, people from states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan have also been calling up the helpline to know the procedure of filing RTI applications. Of the total 34,071 phone calls responded (up to December 12), 90 per cent were from Gujarat and 10 per cent from other states.
.JPG)
.JPG)
