Need RTI help? Step into this clinic

It Will Help Citizens In Filing Petitions, Obtaining Information From Govt
TIMES NEWS NETWORK, Mumbai: The Right to Information (RTI) activism has acquired a new dimension with a citizens group forming an RTI clinic at Mira-Bhayandar on Sunday. The clinic, which will operate from a shop at Mira Road every Saturday between 8 and 9 pm, will help citizens with filing RTI petitions and getting information from different government bodies like the municipal corporation, electricity regulatory authorities and the police department. At a well attended meeting at the Anjuman School ground in Mira Road, RTI activists shared their experiences with around 400 office-bearers of different housing societies of Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC). Called by Movement for Peace and Justice (MPJ), a social organisation, the meeting emphasised the need to use the RTI Act as a tool for empowering the common man. “The British might have left 57 years ago, but new, exploitative rulers have replaced them. After a long and sustained struggle, we have got the RTI Act which can help us get the long-awaited swaraj,’’ exhorted noted RTI activist Sailesh Gandhi. Explaining the method of filing an RTI petition, Gandhi said that any blank paper with just Rs 10 worth court fee stamp can be used as an RTI petition. “You don’t have to visit various departments. Just post it from your home to the public relations officer of the department concerned. The PRO is required to reply within 30 days,’’ said Gandhi, who gave the example of a 20 year-old boy from Bihar who had effectively used RTI to get his ration card issued. “The corrupt rationing officer was asking for a bribe of Rs 2,000. The boy didn’t pay a paisa, but used the RTI route, and within two months the officer came knocking at his door with the ration card,’’ said Gandhi. Pramod Patil, an RTI activist who works in the Mira-Bhayandar area, deplored the inadequate civic amenities for the area’s citizens. “There’s not a single government hospital for a population of over seven lakh in Mira-Bhayandar. But for a few private hospitals, including Bhakti Vedanta, the casualties in the July train blasts at Mira Road would have been much higher,’’ said Patil, stressing the need for at least two government hospitals and primary health centres. Calling on citizens to become aware of their rights and use the RTI Act as a weapon, Patil said, “Jab sawal poochoge to jawab milega (They will answer only if you ask questions).’’ President of MPJ, Mumbai, Dr Azeemuddin said the initiative was to create awareness about the RTI Act because most of the time gullible people were taken for a ride by unscrupulous authorities. “If the citizens keep quiet, corruption will never vanish. We have resolved to take the message to people’s doors,’’ said Azeemuddin, adding that an RTI expert would volunteer his services every Saturday evening at Mira Road.
Publication: Times of India Mumbai; Date:2007 Feb 06; Section:Times City; Page Number 5