From the highly informational campaign on RTI, we have definitely learnt a lot. Spreading over the last 2 weeks, our campaign covered right from the history of RTI to the landmark cases and RTI activists. For those who have been following our RTI campaign we have made a short summary of all out blogposts on the topic.
The Right to Information Act was passed in 2005 by the government of India after nearly two decades since it was first suggested by PM VP Singh. A few progressive states such as Tamil Nadu, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh had passed legislations before the RTI was implemented at the Central level.
Right to information provide for timely response by the government machinery to any query posted by the citizens. It is a powerful tool in the hands of the citizens to delve into the intricacies of government functioning. The objective of right to information is empower citizens and improve transparency and accountability in the government. This also helps in reducing corruption and promotes a more direct interaction between people thereby facilitating democracy further.
RTI allows any Indian citizen to seek information from any public authority (unless the act expressly exempts disclosure) by applying to seek the information from the Public Information Officer (PIO) appointed by the government. PIOs are obliged to disclose all information except those which are of sensitive nature, expressly forbidden, private in nature, trade secrets & IP or would impede any criminal investigation etc. Certain intelligence and security organisations (22 departments) are also exempted from disclosure of information except information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human right violations. If the application is rejected on unreasonable grounds or is not supplied to the applicant within the stipulated time, the applicant can appeal to higher authority. There are two rounds of appeal available to the RTI applicant.
Cost of RTI application is a nominal Rs.10 and a reasonable charge for any stationary or material (Photocopy, discs/floppy and postal charge) used for making the information available to the applicant. Moreover the PIO has to respond within a period of 30 days to all request made under the RTI and in cases involving life or liberty of a person, the PIO is deemed to respond within 48 hours.
RTI act has enabled many activists such as Satish Shetty, Rinku Singh Rahi and Lalit Mehta in exposing various scams and holding the government accountable for their actions. Within a decade of its implementation it has proved to be a very useful and indispensable tool for furthering the democratic principles.
“The right to know is the right to live.” -Aruna Roy
We hope that through our campaign we were able to add to your knowledge about your Right to Information. Stay tuned for our next campaign. Thank you for all your support and please do continue to provide feedback and motivate our team of TIPsters. Cheers!
The Right to Information Act was passed in 2005 by the government of India after nearly two decades since it was first suggested by PM VP Singh. A few progressive states such as Tamil Nadu, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh had passed legislations before the RTI was implemented at the Central level.
Right to information provide for timely response by the government machinery to any query posted by the citizens. It is a powerful tool in the hands of the citizens to delve into the intricacies of government functioning. The objective of right to information is empower citizens and improve transparency and accountability in the government. This also helps in reducing corruption and promotes a more direct interaction between people thereby facilitating democracy further.
RTI allows any Indian citizen to seek information from any public authority (unless the act expressly exempts disclosure) by applying to seek the information from the Public Information Officer (PIO) appointed by the government. PIOs are obliged to disclose all information except those which are of sensitive nature, expressly forbidden, private in nature, trade secrets & IP or would impede any criminal investigation etc. Certain intelligence and security organisations (22 departments) are also exempted from disclosure of information except information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human right violations. If the application is rejected on unreasonable grounds or is not supplied to the applicant within the stipulated time, the applicant can appeal to higher authority. There are two rounds of appeal available to the RTI applicant.
Cost of RTI application is a nominal Rs.10 and a reasonable charge for any stationary or material (Photocopy, discs/floppy and postal charge) used for making the information available to the applicant. Moreover the PIO has to respond within a period of 30 days to all request made under the RTI and in cases involving life or liberty of a person, the PIO is deemed to respond within 48 hours.
RTI act has enabled many activists such as Satish Shetty, Rinku Singh Rahi and Lalit Mehta in exposing various scams and holding the government accountable for their actions. Within a decade of its implementation it has proved to be a very useful and indispensable tool for furthering the democratic principles.
“The right to know is the right to live.” -Aruna Roy
We hope that through our campaign we were able to add to your knowledge about your Right to Information. Stay tuned for our next campaign. Thank you for all your support and please do continue to provide feedback and motivate our team of TIPsters. Cheers!
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