BBMP, BDA top in RTI cases

Taking part in a panel discussion on RTI seminar organised by the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, Virupakshaiah lamented the fact that the State only had two information commissioners. “Almost 6,000 cases are pending. More infrastructure and people are required to handle it,” he said.

Shekhar Singh, co-founder of the National Coalition for People’s Right to Information, said the law relating to RTI was drafted to nab corrupt people in government departments.

He reiterated the findings of a nationwide survey conducted by his organisation, that involved 35,000 citizens in ten States. “The survey had to file more than 800 RTI requests to determine the responsiveness of the government,” he added. He called upon students to use the RTI.

Jayashree JN, Founder, `Fight Corruption Now’ who has made use of the RTI to root out corrupt officials says that one needs to fight for the right to get information at every step. “You just can’t give up at any point,” she asserted.

Theodore Bhaskaran, historian, mentioned that the English language media was more active in propagating information relating to RTI than the vernacular media. “It took two years to get hold of a Tamil version of the RTI Act,” he said.

Director of Consumer Rights Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT), Y G Muralidharan shed light on the efforts initiated to bring about transparency at the village level. The seminar was moderated by Pulitzer Prize finalist, Ralph Frammolino.