RTI is a powerful tool that can be used by each one of us to know how public money is being spent on various services and to know status of various applications and on going projects
We need more Vijay Anand's to combat corruption..Vijay is an active crusader for change...Let us support such initiatives!
MAHITI ADHIKAR GUJARAT PAHEL: A CIVIL QUERY FOR CIVIC CHANGE
[FONT="]From public toilets and ration cards to drinking water and road repairs, ordinary people are not content with letting those responsible get away with shoddy service. Now, many are using RTI to force authorities to mend their ways.
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[FONT="]A giant currency note peeps out of Vijay Anand’s pocket as he addresses a group of students. The note is an exact replica of a thousand-rupee note, except that it has ‘zero rupees’ printed on it along with the pledge ‘I promise to neither accept nor give a bribe.’ The zero-rupee note, devised by Anand, an RTI activist and founder of the NGO Fifth Pillar in Chennai, has become a symbol of sorts against corruption. “The note sends out a message that it doesn’t pay to be corrupt,” says Anand.
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[FONT="]It’s a neat little gimmick which accentuates the work Anand and his team are doing in the region. Recently, they helped more than 100 villagers of Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu get ration cards by filing RTI applications. “The taluk officer was delaying the issuing of their cards for several months in order to make the applicants pay a bribe,” recalls Anand. “But soon, he had to apologize. This has inspired many villagers in Villupuram to use RTI to get their passports, voter I-cards and driving licenses without paying a bribe.”
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[FONT="]Across the country, many activists like Anand have leveraged the power of RTI to sort out social issues. Ratna Ala, 34, is a resident of Rangpar village in Gujarat’s Rajkot district. When the water re s o u rc e s d e p a r t m e n t stopped laying pipelines in the village leading to a water crisis, Ala promptly filed a series of RTI applications to question the decision and followed up the matter with the department. The visually handicapped activist’s persistence paid off and the village is now on the verge of getting its water supply.
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[FONT="]Incidentally, the use of RTI has also enabled activists to ward off potential disaster. A case in point is architect and RTI activist Sarang Yadwadkar who pointed out flaws in a river embankment project in Pune which could have lead to flash floods. Yadwadkar procured thousands of documents through RTI over three-four years which showed that the project would have led to destabilization of 18 bridges, many of which were almost 150 years old. “The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was planning a river navigation project which involved building exhibition grounds and pedestrian malls on the river bed,” he says. “Such a thing would have reduced the width of the river drastically. With the information we had got, we approached the National Green Tribunal which put an end to the corporation’s plans.”
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[FONT="]RTI has also been deployed effectively in informing people of the civic facilities available to them. Most of the public toilets in Delhi managed by contractors were charging users arbitrary high usage charges. Last year, efforts by the Delhi-based Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) resulted in the situation being rectified. “In several areas housing low-income families, the contractor used to charge Rs 1 or 2 per person for each visit to the toilet, forcing families to pay upto Rs 400 each month,” says Amrita Johri of SNS. “We filed a complaint in the Central Information Commission (CIC) demanding that in compliance with the RTI Act, relevant information about Delhi’s public toilets, including their charges, timings for their opening and closing and contact details of the contractor responsible for their maintenance be painted outside each toilet.”
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[FONT="]In late 2011, CIC issued an order making it mandatory for all relevant information to be put up outside each public toilet in Delhi. Johri terms it a significant victory. “As a result of the order, people are now aware of the correct user charges and are able to hold the contractor accountable for any lapses.”[/FONT]
We need more Vijay Anand's to combat corruption..Vijay is an active crusader for change...Let us support such initiatives!
MAHITI ADHIKAR GUJARAT PAHEL: A CIVIL QUERY FOR CIVIC CHANGE
[FONT="]From public toilets and ration cards to drinking water and road repairs, ordinary people are not content with letting those responsible get away with shoddy service. Now, many are using RTI to force authorities to mend their ways.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]A giant currency note peeps out of Vijay Anand’s pocket as he addresses a group of students. The note is an exact replica of a thousand-rupee note, except that it has ‘zero rupees’ printed on it along with the pledge ‘I promise to neither accept nor give a bribe.’ The zero-rupee note, devised by Anand, an RTI activist and founder of the NGO Fifth Pillar in Chennai, has become a symbol of sorts against corruption. “The note sends out a message that it doesn’t pay to be corrupt,” says Anand.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]It’s a neat little gimmick which accentuates the work Anand and his team are doing in the region. Recently, they helped more than 100 villagers of Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu get ration cards by filing RTI applications. “The taluk officer was delaying the issuing of their cards for several months in order to make the applicants pay a bribe,” recalls Anand. “But soon, he had to apologize. This has inspired many villagers in Villupuram to use RTI to get their passports, voter I-cards and driving licenses without paying a bribe.”
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Across the country, many activists like Anand have leveraged the power of RTI to sort out social issues. Ratna Ala, 34, is a resident of Rangpar village in Gujarat’s Rajkot district. When the water re s o u rc e s d e p a r t m e n t stopped laying pipelines in the village leading to a water crisis, Ala promptly filed a series of RTI applications to question the decision and followed up the matter with the department. The visually handicapped activist’s persistence paid off and the village is now on the verge of getting its water supply.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Incidentally, the use of RTI has also enabled activists to ward off potential disaster. A case in point is architect and RTI activist Sarang Yadwadkar who pointed out flaws in a river embankment project in Pune which could have lead to flash floods. Yadwadkar procured thousands of documents through RTI over three-four years which showed that the project would have led to destabilization of 18 bridges, many of which were almost 150 years old. “The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was planning a river navigation project which involved building exhibition grounds and pedestrian malls on the river bed,” he says. “Such a thing would have reduced the width of the river drastically. With the information we had got, we approached the National Green Tribunal which put an end to the corporation’s plans.”
[/FONT]
[FONT="]RTI has also been deployed effectively in informing people of the civic facilities available to them. Most of the public toilets in Delhi managed by contractors were charging users arbitrary high usage charges. Last year, efforts by the Delhi-based Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) resulted in the situation being rectified. “In several areas housing low-income families, the contractor used to charge Rs 1 or 2 per person for each visit to the toilet, forcing families to pay upto Rs 400 each month,” says Amrita Johri of SNS. “We filed a complaint in the Central Information Commission (CIC) demanding that in compliance with the RTI Act, relevant information about Delhi’s public toilets, including their charges, timings for their opening and closing and contact details of the contractor responsible for their maintenance be painted outside each toilet.”
[/FONT]
[FONT="]In late 2011, CIC issued an order making it mandatory for all relevant information to be put up outside each public toilet in Delhi. Johri terms it a significant victory. “As a result of the order, people are now aware of the correct user charges and are able to hold the contractor accountable for any lapses.”[/FONT]
