Economic
Times: New Delhi: Monday, 13 October 2014.
With over
1.98 lakh RTI petitions remain pending in state commissions in last seven year,
activists have stressed on the need to make the process to seek information
under the Act easy and use it as a tool to bring transparency in development
process.
Leading RTI
activist Aruna Roy, on the occasion of RTI day today, said that people are
unable to gauge the effect and extent of RTI act.
The RTI Act
was enacted on October 12 in 2005. "It is being seen as a tool to
highlight corruption only. But in fact, it should be seen as an alternative
politics for bringing in change in the democracy and solve problems of Indian
democracy," Roy told PTI Bhasha.
In the end,
it is a tool to frame policies, its effective implementation and to ensure
people's participation, she added.
Former Delhi
Minister Manish Sisodia, who actively participated in RTI movement, said the
process to get information under the transparency act and mentality of the
concerned officer in providing information as the hindrance in effective
implementation of the Act.
"The
officials dilly dally in providing the required information under this Act as
they feel that the people who don't have courage to stand before them were now
questioning them," he said.
Noted RTI
activist Laxmi Narayan Modi said the government has given the RTI Act to the
people and made provision to penalise those who violate the law.
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