RTI helps to secure tribal village from floods in future

Yagnesh Mehta   TNN

Uchhal: Memories of the devastation caused by a flooded river Tapi in 2006 are still afresh in the minds of people living in the villages of Surat and Tapi districts.

Rajesh Valvi, a youth from Holipada village in Uchhal taluka of Tapi district, wanted to ensure that his village was never affected by the floods in future.

The irrigation department started to construct embankments alongside Tapi in Uchhal taluka subsequent to the floods. Valvi found at the site of embankment construction that only stone structure was being built.

“The panchayat officials did not have the exact construction details. I decided to seek the information under Right to Information Act (RTI). Initially there was no response, but later a few officials approached me personally and provided the detailed specifications of the construction contract,” says Valvi, who had filed the application in 2008.

Officials visited Valvi at his house in the village on Tapi riverbank. He took them to the construction site where only stones were used to construct the embankment. “They asked the contractor to improve the quality of work. Later, cement and sand were used to improve the embankment’s strength as per the construction specifications. It was a major achievement for a tribal youth like me to convince the government officials about the poor quality of construction,” Valvi adds.

“I then thought of creating awareness about RTI among others in my village. Soon, for the tribals in the region, RTI became an important tool to seek information from government offices,” says Valvi, who now works as RTI counsellor at Shakti – Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre, Songadh. He inspires tribals to seek information under RTI to protect their rights.