Saturday, December 13, 2008

RTI Success Stories

RTI Success Stories

Dear readers / friends,

The RTI Act 2005 enables every citizen access to public information from government records. RTI has become an important tool of social development and good governance.

I wish to post a few success stories where people have used RTI and got required information. Such success stories would be posted on this blog on “Right to Information Awareness” on http://rtiawareness.blogspot.com

Readers and friends are requested to email “RTI Success Stories” to me at keshavsinghalajmer@gmail.com with a brief profile of the contributor. Name of the contributor will be mentioned.

Thanking you,

Keshav Singhal

Know what you want to know

Know what you want to know

You can use the RTI Act 2005 to know what you want to know :
Identify the information that you need. Write down the relevant questions (related to the information you need) on a sheet of plain paper.
Identify which public authority (government department, public sector body, NGO etc) has the information that you want.
Find out the contact details of the Public Information Officer (PIO).
Submit your application to the PIO, along with required application fee.
Don’t forget to get a dated and stamp receipt for your RTI application and fee paid by you.
You should get the information asked for within the prescribed period, usually 30 days.
If don’t get information within stipulated time limit or dissatisfied with the information, you have right to appeals as per provisions of the Act.

More details will be in next post.

Note from the author

The author of this literature has used his skills and knowledge to his best capacity to provide relevant and the latest information. Utmost care has been taken to ensure correctness and accuracy of the contents. However, omissions and errors, if any, in this literature are regretted. Reader’s suggestion for improvement is welcomed. Readers are requested to send their frank opinion, comment, criticism and assessment of this literature.

The purpose of this literature is to create awareness on Right to Information (RTI). The contents are merely for guidance and reference; however, publisher and author are not responsible in any manner for any mistake. In case of any legal use , it is suggested to cross-check the contents with authorized legal publications.

Blog on Right to Information Awareness

Blog on RTI Awareness

Dear friends,

I got a chance to attend a national convention on “The Right to Information: The Road Ahead” on 12 – 13 December at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula, Goa. The convention was organized by the Media Information and Communication Centre of India (MICCI) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) in collaboration with The International Centre Goa (ICG). Delegates from 14 states participated in the convention.

Aruna Roy, Member, National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information and recipient of Magsaysay award for community leadership and international understanding, inaugurated the convention by delivering a keynote address. She said, “The Right to Information movement can help achieve accountability among bureaucrats and political leaders if citizens across the country use the act in a proper manner.”

Arjun Halarnkar, programme manager, ICG gave a welcome address and Nandini Sahai, director, MICCI delivered the theme address about the convention.

Participants from 14 states presented their papers on the assessment of “Reach and Impact of RTI: Role of Media” and delegates discussed issues related to RTI during the convention.

During the valedictory session of the convention, Nikhil Dey, member, National Campaign for peoples Right to Information and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan delivered the valedictory address and A. Venkatratnam, (IAS Retd.) Chief Information Commissioner, Goa delivered the special address in the convention.

Right to Information (RTI) provides us right to know. We can use the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005 to stop corruption and avoid delays in getting our work done in government departments, municipal councils, village panchayat etc.

The RTI Act 2005 enables every citizen access to public information from government records. RTI has become an important tool of social development and good governance. Awareness among the people about the use of RTI has had a great effect on the working culture of the government. RTI has provided a base for new democracy. Let us use RTI to know the information we need from public authority. However, it is felt that a large number of citizens are unaware of the provisions of RTI Act.

To create awareness I have started this new blog.

Articles, news-briefs, write-ups will be posted on this blog from time to time.

Please visit this blog from time to time and advise me your comments.

Thanking you,

Keshav Singhal