Govt spent only Rs 77L on RTI promotion in '10

TNN, Dec 12, 2010,

NEW DELHI: The Centre has spent only Rs 77 lakh on promotion of the Right to Information Act in the country during first seven months of the year compared to nearly Rs 5 crore last year.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has said it had spent Rs 1.19 crore during 2008-09, Rs 4.91 crore during 2009-10 and Rs 77 lakh during 2010-11 (till November 2). The information was provided in an RTI reply to activist S C Agrawal.

Even five years after the transparency law was implemented in the country, stakeholders feel that a majority of the people are still not aware about it.

In a study conducted by an independent agency, DoPT said only 13% of the rural population and 33% of urban population are aware of the RTI Act. It said, there has been a lack of initiative on the part of the government in the spreading awareness about the Act.