DNA: Pune: Tuesday, July 10, 2012.
Setting up a joint committee of activists, information commissioners and government nominees could help look into the proper implementation of the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
This was suggested by Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (MKSS) at a brainstorming session of RTI activists held on Sunday morning at the exposition hall of the Indradhanushya Centre.
Former central and state information commissioners Shailesh Gandhi and Vijay Kuvalekar respectively, Magsaysay awardee Aruna Roy and director of RTI cell of Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (Yashada) Prahlad Kachare were among those who attended the meeting.
Gandhi expressed concern over the lack of public protests against some decisions of the central government that he termed as detrimental to the RTI Act.
As a remedy to the misuse of RTI, Dey suggested that public pressure be mounted on suspected blackmailers. “We have suggested that all applications and answers be put up on the websites so as to make them available in the public domain. This would also shame the ones who are misusing the Act and help protect the activists who fear for their safety,” he said.
Dey’s concept of people’s pressure was also taken up by Kachare, who asked for “constructive pressure on the government to safeguard the interests of RTI.”
Former state chief information commissioner Kuvalekar, on his part, called upon the activists to form pressure groups and investigate the antecedents of the “so-called activists. The RTI activists should be united in their endeavour to protect the Act and to prevent misuse of it,” he said.
Summing up the session, Aruna Roy exhorted people to be on their guard to prevent the government from diluting the RTI Act. On the question of the rising number of attacks on activists, Roy asked RTI users to work collectively, especially if they are working on sensitive issues.
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