26-yr-old visually challenged man will receive first Rahul Mangaonkar RTI Award

By Ahmedabad Mirror Bureau
Posted On Sunday, July 19, 2009

Ratna Ala, a visually challenged 26-year-old youth, who used RTI to expose the improprieties of the local administration and got development to his village, will become the first recipient of the Rahul Mangaonkar Award for Best Use of RTI for Common Cause.

The award was conceptualised to cherish and perpetuate the legacy of TOI journalist Rahul Mangaonkar, who had pioneered the use of Right to Information in journalism. Ala will be felicitated at Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry Auditorium on Sunday at 10.30 am.

A native of Rangpur in Wankaner taluka of Rajkot district, Ala is visually impaired. He used the RTI to replace a stony path connecting his village to the main highway by a two-kilometre pucca road. His family belongs to below the poverty line.

Ala, a class X passout, used RTI to get information on several schemes that the panchayat had claimed it had implemented but had not done so.

Rahul Mangaonkar, an activist-journalist, passed away on May 5, 2009. He used RTI as a tool to expose irregularities in the local administration and provided a non-confrontational attitude to the RTI movement.

The award is not just a tribute to Mangaonkar but an encouragement to common citizens who use the tool to make a difference to the society at large.