TNN;16,December 16, 2010,
Ahmedabad: Volunteers,who attended the RTI seminar,have voiced their concern over the new amendment that includes a word limit of 250 words in the RTI application and a postal charge of Rs 10 if the application was transferred to another appellate officer.
During the seminar organised on Wednesday at the Ahmedabad Management Association hall,the volunteers drafted a memorandum,which will be given to information commissioner RN Das.The memorandum stated that restricting an application to just 250 words would have an adverse impact and a common man would not be able to seek crucial information.
Further,volunteers also expressed their concern over the move to charge Rs 10 as postal charge in case of transfer of an application from one authority to another.The volunteers stated that this would even keep away common man from filing applications.
Harinesh Pandya,of Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel,said even after five years of the implementation of the act,there are several shortcomings.Officials at the village level try and keep away such activists and even do not give information.
He also stressed the need to organise regular co-ordination meetings for effective implementation of the act.Citing an example of how the money allocated for creating awareness was being misused,he said that during a recent meeting in Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration,the entire time for public awareness was utilised only for fixing the lunch menu.
He said that also when such workshops are organised,RTI crusaders were kept away by local authorities.He also called upon the information commissioner to have a help desk in his office to give information about pending appeals.
Civilian use will lead to policy changes:
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| Chief Information Commissioner of Gujarat RN Das addresses the audience (right) at the RTI seminar on Wednesday |
Harun Chotta,a resident of Navlakhi port,will most probably be instrumental in making amendments towards missing records of registration of birth and deaths in the existing policy,said chief information commissioner of Gujarat RN Das at a seminar on Right to Information organized here on Wednesday.The seminar was organized by SWATI,an NGO working in north Gujarat region,on the issues of women empowerment and entrepreneurship.
Das citied several examples where the common man had made a difference to the society by using RTI.He was replying to the issues raised by volunteers that the law should be simplified for the common man to understand.
Das said Harun just sought to know about his birth registration.Harun,failing to get reply from officials,filed an appeal with the Information Commissionerate and the matter was taken up.After going into the details we found that there was a need for a policy.We have asked the registrar of birth and deaths to study the laws of other states and then submit a report.Once the report is received we would suggest to the government to amend the existing policy.
At present,the registrar gives a certificate that the records were missing.On receiving these certificates one had to approach the court for orders.
Das said that the role of the commissionerate is restricted to penalising officials who fail to provide information and ensuring that the complainant gets information.He said that apart from just giving suggestions,his office also ensures that victims get justice.Citing another reason,he said that a Surat rape victim,whose complaint was not being taken up,came in person and narrated her story.The Information Commissionerate officer held a hearing and ensured that the complaint of the girl was registered and she got justice.Das also called upon stage Ratna Ala,a visually-challenged villager who was the first winner of Rahul Mangaonkar Award,instituted by The Times of India - Ahmedabad for Best use of RTI for common cause.
Das said that Ala,a resident of Rangpar village in Wankaner taluka of Rajkot district,had been using RTI as a tool to play the role of watchdog in works done in his gram panchayat.In many cases,his RTI pleas stirred panchayat officials into action.
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