Monica Bhatia, a journalism student at Vivekanand Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS) couldn’t fathom how and why her neighbours were allowed to construct a godown in the residential colony. For long, she wondered if she could do something to stop it and suddenly she realised she actually could.
‘‘I can file an application against the MCD under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and demand how this blatant commercialisation of residential areas is being permitted. The godown has become a big problem for us because rats and insects have started breeding in the area,’’ said Monica.
Monica was one of the numerous students who today attended a presentation by Parivartan and The Indian Express on the use of Right to Information Act. The RTI camp which has earlier been held at Vasant Kunj, Rohini, Rajinder Nagar and Zakir Hussain College, made a stopover at VIPS at Moti Nagar today. And it was received with a lot of enthusiasm by the students.
‘‘I want to ask the MCD why they have not made any parking arrangements in the Madhu Vihar market at Patparganj. Absence of parking space forces owners to park their vehicles on the road, leading to congestion,’’ said Prince Shadwal.
Not stopping at issues ailing their local streets and corporation, students were keen on asking the government to give a record of how it has spent money on various schemes including money received through donations as aid for tsunami victims.
‘‘Considering that the Central RTI may be passed in the monsoon session, I want to know how one can file RTI applications using that Act and if it is likely to come into conflict with the existing state level RTI Acts?’’ asked Pranav Sachdeva.
Geetanjali Atri, also a student, wanted to know why the post office for which land has been allotted in Sector-15, Rohini, is still not ready even though all official documents claim that it was built in the 90s. Penny Mutreja wondered why some people were allowed to host parties in the parks in her residential area when the Horticultural Department expressly forbids the same. Infact, the students felt so strongly about RTI that Parivartan has decided to hold another workshop for them on Saturday.