Transcript By Shri K.A. Badarinath , Sr. Editor, Financial Chronicle

Media, RTI and Development
“Information is the fulcrum of Social change”
K.A Badarinath
Policy Editor – Financial Chronicle
• Information facilitates active participation of people in
democratic governance
• Promote and supervise good governance that is open,
transparent and accountable
• Help assure law enforcement
• Help delivery of public Services and Development Schemes
An effective RTI regime can enable credible,
evidence-based and factual reporting on key issues
of public interest.
It can enable the media to expose maladministration, corruption, inefficiency and propagate stories on
accountability, transparency, effective administration and good
governance.
How can the media use RTI ?
Under RTI Act, media professionals like citizens, can:
• Demand information pertaining to government departments
• Demand copies of contracts, payments, estimates, measurements of
engineering works etc.
•
Demand certified samples of material used in construction of roads,
drains, buildings etc.
• Demand to inspect any public development work that may still be under
construction or completed
• Demand to inspect documents - construction drawings, records books,
registers, quality control reports etc.
• Demand status of requests or complaints, details of time delays, action
taken on Information Commission’s decisions etc.
RTI : an empowering tool for Social Change
• Catalyze effective Implementation of RTI Act
• Provide Information to Citizens and Create awareness
• Lending Voice to Citizens, Communities
• Acting as Watchdog on behalf of Citizens
Suggested areas of action for media?
• Monitor implementation of RTI act
• Report in-effectiveness & inefficiency in public services
• Highlight corruption and fraud related cases.
• Bring to fore citizens’ grievances
• Highlight cases or efforts made by civil society bodies,
communities and individuals.
How Media can highlight Citizen Grievances
• List all grievances received from people with case studies
• Action taken on each grievances
• Time limits for each grievance to be resolved as per
rules/Citizen’s Charter
• Penalty prescribed against officials if they do not adhere
to these time limits
• Reasons for delay in resolution of grievances, Action taken
against the officials in case there was delay.
Highlight Efforts made by Organizations
• Bring to public domain success stories.
• Write on cases where information was withheld by
PIOs
• Work on stories reporting decisions by Information
Commissions.
• Profiles organizations promoting RTI
• Personality stories in RTI campaign
• Initiatives undertaken by civil society organizations
and communities
Here are Such Stories
People start getting rations - Parivartan
Almost 90% of food meant to be distributed to poor people
under PDS is being siphoned off. These were findings of
surveys done by Parivartan in different areas ofDelhi.
But all this changed for better after records of ration dealers
were obtained using RTI and made public. Now, people have
started getting full entitlements in these areas.
A road in Harijan Basti, Mandawali
Harijan Basti is a small jhuggi jhompri cluster in East district
of Delhi. For the last four years, few volunteers and residents
were trying to get a road repaired that runs parallel to the
cluster.
Local municipal councilor and MCD officials gave false
reassurances that repair work will begin soon. In November
2004, half the road was repaired and the other half was
scheduled to begin in April 2005. However, the work did not
begin. Only after a RTI application was filed in July 2005 by
Suchi Pande that work actually began.
MCD engineers kept the applicant informed on progress of
road built and after the work was completed, an inspection
was carried out and sample of material was also taken.
RTI exposes Union Minister
The case of a 4th Grade Employee, Hitesh Verma was
brought to justice with the help of RTI.
Mr. Verma was transferred from Assam owing to malicious
intent of a Union Minister. Verma’s mother filed an
application seeking reasons for transfer and policy of
transfers in coal India.
In reply Coal India admitted that transfer of Verma was
motivated decision of a VIP. Verma’s mother sent a letter
to PM seeking the name of VIP involved in transfer of
Verma. Ultimately on order by PMO, Coal India had to
reveal the name of the VIP as Subodh Kant Sahay, the
Union Minister. It was found that transfer order was
malafied and against the policies of Coal India.
Awareness of RTI acts as a Threat
Mazloom, a rickshaw-puller of Madhubani district, Bihar, did
know nothing about RTI, but was aware of the fact that an
application under this could change attitude of the Government
officials towards poor people like him. He had a pleasant
experience of RTI.
The Block Development Officer (BOD) was asking for
bribe against release of money under Indria Awas Yojna. But
Mazloom did not budge and rather threatened the official that
he would file an application under RTI. Only a threat to use
RTI did the trick for him, as the babu immediately handed him
his entitlement amount.
Reporting Social Audit
RTI is single most significant law that widens scope
of social audit in development projects, public
policies, programs, key officials and make them
accountable. The Act secures every citizen
enforceable right to know, examine, audit, review and
assess Government activities, decisions and also
ensure that these are consistent with public interest,
probity and justice.
Social audit of implementation of the National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act,2005 is legally mandated
(Section 17).
For Questions like??
• Whether Gram Sabha was involved in identification of works
in village?
• Was there transparency in process of registration?
• Was there transparency in issuance of job cards?
• Whether applications were processed as per guidelines?
• Was there transparency in sanction of works?
• Was there transparency in implementation of works?
• Whether quality was maintained in the work?
• Whether wages were paid on time according to measurements?
• Whether payments for all bills have been made?
• Whether prescribed worksite facilities were made available to
workers?
• Whether measurement, check measurement, and quality
control inspection data recorded tally with the actuals on
ground?
References
•
•
•
•
•
RTI Cell, ATI, Kohima
India Foundation for Rural Development Studies, New Delhi
‘Sopan Step’ editorial teams
‘Echo’: development communications group
Excerpts: “The Right to Information Act, 2005 - A Guide for
Media” by Centre for Good Governance (CGG), Hyderabad
THANK YOU