Ahmedabad : Vasant Brahmbhatt-a resident of Ahmedabad-had filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2005 in connection with the Sabarmati riverfront project. He had asked for information on the project report, the cost, whether the tenders were issued before allotting the work or not, and who all were assigned work of more than Rs 25 lakh. He is yet to receive any reply from the State Information Commission.
Vishram Laxman Dodiya had filed an application under RTI to get details about the illegal electricity connection by Torrent Power. He could not get any information. On February 11, 2010 he was found murdered. He had met the company officials the same day. Three people were arrested in the case. His son is yet to receive the information under RTI.
Gandhinagar resident Vishal Parikh had sought information under RTI in 2007-08 to know who all had made a false entry in the document 6 relating to ownership of land. The land belongs to him, but is now owned by a builder. He has gone for an appeal in the state commission but is yet to receive any information.
Over 100 RTI users across Gujarat, who met in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, had similar stories to tell.
Organised by the Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), the state level meeting for RTI users concluded that it was necessary to get organised to build pressure on the information commissioner.
The idea of having a district level forum was mooted before the RTI users, which was readily accepted.
Explaining how the state level RTI forum will work, well-known social activist Arvind Kejriwal said: “The objective of setting up a forum is to make our voices heard in making important decisions. For instance, the government doesn’t ask the RTI users before appointing the information commissioner. Once we are organised, they will be required to do that.”
The RTI users were also of the view that a state level forum needs to be formed.
Vasant Brahmbhatt, an RTI activist from Ahmedabad said: “The group can pressurise information commissioners and also support information seekers when they are threatened by the officials if the information is against them.”
He said: “I am fighting a lone battle to get information under the RTI Act for the last five years. I hope the forum will help me get the required information.”
Most queries relate to land
In 2009, Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP) received 11,755 calls, mostly from farmers seeking information on filing as also appearing for the appeal. The survey of the phone calls received by the NGO revealed that most of the calls made were related to “land entitlement.”
Around 13 per cent of the calls were related to filing RTI for checking land entitlement followed by retirement dues (9.8 per cent). In 2010, MAGP has received over 2,000 calls till March.
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