Right to Information – Need and Status

Sirish Agarwal

and

Sanjeev Ranganathan

Asha-14 Conference

Chicago May 28 - 30, 2005

Content

• Provisions of Right to Information law• Social Change

– Government Solution – Why it does not work– People’s Needs– People’s Solutions

• Examples of People’s struggles• Current Status• Get Involved

Right To Information

• Law provides for easy access to public information– Inspect any government work– Appeal to Public grievance commission

• Nine states and central govt have passed the right to information law– Implementation resisted– Lack training, clear procedures, awareness

among users

Social Change

• Education & Health

• Justice for all – rule of law

• Right to food and work

• Shelter

• Transparent accountable governance

• Rights for women and children

Social Change - Government Solution

• Top-down approach for a problem• These do not always represent requirements of the

people

Why it does not work?

• Vested interests• Opportunism• Corruption• Cultural and social bounds – structural in nature• Extreme poverty and marginalization• Externalized problem, stigmatized

Threats to survival, dignity, hope, self-respect

Examples of People’s Involvement

Social Audits of:• Pension schemes• Housing schemes• Construction projects• Ration shops• Land redistribution• Government health clinics

Social Change - People’s Solutions

• People’s groups work to– Make policies relevant– Monitor functioning of govt agencies– Change attitudes

• People’s groups are participatory in decision making and accountability

Examples of Struggles

Panchayat Sikoriah (Hardoi District)Construction projects The people’s group in this case was the self-help group organized around Asha center Lalpur, U.P.- Villages asked the panchayat for the details of the accounts.-After long struggle they finally got some numbers of expenditure in six construction projects.- Three items were ghost projects and bogus expenses were found in the rest.

Examples cont…

DelhiRation shopsThe people’s group in this case was Parivartan.-142/182 families did not receive ration- 87% of the wheat did not reach the families- Records were made public and since then people have informed us that all dealers but one have been giving the correct ration for the last two months- An FIR has been lodged against him

Current Status• In nine states the right to information is

empowering people’s groups.• There is resistance to pass this law in the

rest of the states.• Citizenship education is still required to get

people to exercise this right.• However, in some cases the gains made at

local officials are still overturned by higher level administration and judiciary.

Get Involved• Understand issues of the underprivileged• Encourage getting information for government

agencies that affect projects and communities• Give moral support, encourage formation of local

groups/civic institutions, networks • Encourage transparency and local accountability

in projects• Personally do not encourage systems that make

govt bodies morally weaker, e.g. do not use short cuts like bribes or connections to get things done.

Statistics

• TamilNadu, Goa, Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh -between 1997 and 2003

• Delhi – Covers 119 departments of govt., 15 – 30 days response time, penalties for refusal to respond

• Central govt. Freedom of Information Act – 2002• Initiatives in other states

RTI Campaigns

• Mazdoor Kissan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan.

• Parivartan, Delhi.• Asha, Hardoi District, U.P.• National campaign for people’s rights to

information (NCPRI) www.righttoinformation.com

• Others.

Citizenship Education

• Education that empowers to change the economic and structural binds

• Awareness of rights and responsibilities

• Participatory decision making, local accountability

• Understanding of environment

Investment in Future

• Development through steps of :– access to education, income, and information– empowerment, citizenship rights and

duties and – participation.

These steps will lead to community's participation in training, resource generation and management for its future generations.

Summary

• At-risk, Threat to survival

• RTI as a tool for participation, control, management of future, choices, staying power

• Hope, dignity, respect, confidence