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New Delhi, September 12: THE ‘‘tedious’’ process of filing a Right To Information application has not deterred Vinod Kumar Jain, an exporter and a former DU lecturer. He has filed more than 12 applications on various issues, including number of sweepers deputed for a road, expenses on road repair, leaking potable-water pipes, status of water bodies, to banning junk food in school canteens, among other things.
Jain’s involvement with the RTI started when he wasn’t provided full information while PILs in the court on issues such as power theft, preservation of water bodies. ‘‘Despite writing several times to the departments and sending reminders, I got no replies,’’ Jain said, adding: ‘‘When the Right To Information Act was passed, I saw it as an excellent tool to get authentic information.’’
Officers know that they are being held responsible for the information that they give, and in case of any false claims made, they know they may have to answer before the Public Grievances Commission, added Jain.
One of his first RTI application deals with the dirty Mandi Road at Mehrauli. Jain filed an application asking for the number of sweepers deputed on that road. And, he soon had angry sweepers at his door. ‘‘They thought I would be using the information to complain against them, but I told them that I had the information and would know if they did not work,’’ he said.
In response to Jain’s application at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s South Zone office — asking for the number of sweepers — he was told that there were 15 men on duty from 7am-3pm. He then filed an RTI plea on the expenditure for repair work on the stretch. ‘‘I got to know that Rs 11 lakh had been sanctioned for the repair of the Mandi road and despite that, it was full of potholes,’’ said Jain.
Jain said his experience with RTI applications showed him that ‘‘once you file a plea for information, it acts as a pressure tactic...The moment you ask for information, the authorities sit up and at least start doing some work’’, he said.
It was only after he filed a Right To Information application, asking for the number of water bodies under the Delhi Government, did he find out that there were more than 700 such water bodies. The common notion is that there are only 508 water bodies. Jain then submitted these revised figures before the High Court in an ongoing public interest litigation.
Although he is satisfied with the working of the Right To Information Act, he says people are reluctant to use it due to the insistence that the applicant file it in person and submit the application only to the concerned government departments.
Jain is now waiting for the Central Government’s Right To Information legislation. |