Women exhorted to use RTI Act

The Hindu: Vijayavada: Saturday, April 06, 2013.

Women should make better use of the Right to Information Act (RTI) and there was a need to increase awareness amongst them about the Act, State Information Commissioner M..Vijaya Nirmala has said. Ms Nirmala who lives in Nuzvid in Krishna district came here for the first time in her official capacity on Thursday. She reviewed the implementation of the RTI Act by the Police Department in the morning and offered prayers to Goddess Kanakadurga in the evening.

Addressing the media, she said that her primary objective was to make women more aware of the RTI Act. “The Act is like the Pashupatastram in the hands of the common man. The women should use it to get information about the implementation of welfare schemes,” she said. She recalled how the wife of a government employment was able to get a fair amount as alimony from the husband who had divorce her. She said there should be total transparency and officials should allow the public to refer to records and to even photocopy them if necessary. Only then there would be no corruption.

Ms Nirmala took charge on February 8 and is in-charge of Krishna, West Godavari and Rangareddy districts. She is scheduled to go to West Godavari on Friday and will be back in Krishna district on Saturday to participate in a women’s programme organised by Sahithi Samiti. Over 300 women would participate in an awareness programme on the RTI Act, she said.