E-Paper
RTI a potent weapon in people?s hand
THE RIGHT TO Information Act would ensure participation of people in governance and give real face to the definition of democracy that it is the government of the people. This observation was made here by Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pandey, who was here to participate in a campaign against bribe, jointly launched by People's Forum and Purvanchal Gramin Sewa Samiti.
Good response to drive against bribe
THE RIGHT TO Information Act would ensure participation of people in governance and give real face to the definition of democracy that it is the government of the people. This observation was made here by Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pandey, who was here to participate in a campaign against bribe, jointly launched by People's Forum and Purvanchal Gramin Sewa Samiti.
Delivering his views, Pandey said earlier in the name of law, employees and bureaucrats harassed poor farmers and common people. The Right to Information was the first Act through which common people could demand information and officials could be pulled up if they failed to perform their duty.
The camp is going on at St Joseph's Inter College. Pandey’s participation has boosted the moral of social activists.
Pandey narrated his experiences and struggle and said after 59 years of independent a real weapon had come in the hands of common people. He expressed hope that it would work as a scanner on corruption and bribe in various departments.
He further said that the victims of red tapism and apathy of officials would welcome the Act with open heart. He stressed the need to create awareness among people regarding the Act otherwise the bureaucrats would confine the Act in files to dilute its significance.
At present the RTI campaign is running in 60 districts of the country along with 12 districts of UP.
Pandey claimed that in Sitapur, Varanasi, Faizabad and other districts the campaign had yielded good response from common people. Pandey admitted that some departments were denying information to people who had submitted their applications on plain paper.
Delivering his views on this occasion, Father JBN Josh, said in the last 10 days 403 victims harassed by apathetic attitude of State government employees of various departments had filed their applications.
Seventy five applications had been submitted in various departments and most of the complaints were regarding fake electricity bills, undue delay in issuance of passport and other similar grievances.
