PRIA,
through its state resource centre
at Jharkhand, organised a number of
events and programmes to promote the
awareness and understanding of the
RTI Act. It also undertook initiatives
for making people file applications
on different issues to the concerned
departments.
The
main aim of the initiatives was to
make people use RTI in their day-to-day
activities and see the results for
themselves so they could realise the
enormous potential of the Act as a
catalyst for social transformation
and transparent governance
Campaigns
On
October 12, 2006, to mark the completion
of the enactment of one year of RTI
Act, a programme was organised by
a leading newspaper of Jharkhand on
the issue of ‘Drive Against
Bribe’, in which PRIA representatives
actively participated to campaign
to use RTI as an instrument to check
official corruption.
It
was also decided that a joint platform
would be created to promote Right
to Information in the state through
mission mode. The platform would actively
through a mass movement, build pressure
on the government to implement the
RTI regime in all its departments
and agencies.
The
initiatives of PRIA for creating mass
awareness were appreciated by the
state SIC and they demanded copies
of the pamphlet ‘Haq se Maango-Suchna
Ka Adhikar’ ,which PRIA had
distributed amongst the general people
during its campaigns.
In
addition orientation camps were organised
in the intensive areas to educate
Citizen Leaders and CCs to utilise
RTI as an effective development tool.
The CLs were also trained to help
people in the community in drafting
and filing applications under the
Act.
PRIA
also undertook an intensive campaign
in the villages for mass sensitisation
on the RTI issue, which raised awareness
of RTI at the grassroots.
Workshops
and Training Programmes
The
SRC organised a number of training
and orientation programmes for different
stakeholders at various levels of
the Government on the subject of Right
to Information.
A
workshop was organised in which Government
functionaries also participated. The
workshop had a positive response with
an Information Commissioner of Jharkhand
attending the workshop. The workshop
helped in removing the gaps in understanding
between the State Information Commission
and PRIA, which would also be helpful
in future interventions. A large number
of participants went back to their
respective work fields and disseminated
the information gained at the workshop.
Participants
who attended this programme also organised
a number of workshops in their respective
areas for information dissemination
and application of the Act in solving
their day-to-day problems.
Proactive
Disclosure Initiatives
Initiatives
were also undertaken to actively support
the administration in complying with
the requirement of proactive disclosure
of information, mandated under Section
4 of the RTI Act.In Pakur district
of the state, efforts were made by
PRIA for implementation of Section
4 of the RTI Act.
As
result there was proactive disclosure
of information regarding the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)
as well as on other schemes/programmes
of the government, on board at the
Block office.
PRIA’s
initiatives also resulted in the Proactive
disclosure of information by the High
Court of Jharkhand, which had previously
not declared any information with
regard to the requirements of the
Right to Information Act, 2005.Similarly,
with the help of PRIA, a citizen filed
an application under the Section 4
of the RTI Act, 2005 to know the detailed
report about the construction of a
particular road, and requested information
on the scheme under which the said
road was constructed, the budgetary
allocation, the name of the implementing
authority etc.. He was provided the
information within 30 days by the
concerned public authority.
Impact
‚
Citizen leaders were enabled to write
applications on different issues and
submit them to the concerned public
authorities. ‚Citizens’
knowledge of the Act and its practical
aid as an instrument of good governance
was enhanced through the training
programmes and orientations. ‚
Many of the citizens and citizen leaders
oriented by PRIA on RTI were successful
in acquiring key information and in
solving their long pending problems
with the help of RTI. ‚
Due to strong pressure from PRIA and
allied organisations, pressure was
built on the State Government to constitute
the State Information Commission.
‚ After the constitution of
the State Information Commission,
regular pressure was applied on the
SIC to ease the process of application
fees payment under the Act. As a result
mode of payment by cash was also accepted.
‚ The initiatives of PRIA were
highly appreciated by the SIS, which
lauded the efforts to raise mass awareness
of RTI by PRIA and asked for more
copies of the pamphlets developed
by PRIA for this purpose. ‚
There was implementation of the proactive
disclosure information by the Government,
particularly on NREGA at the block
level. ‚ Implementation
of RTI was undertaken in the Jharkhand
High Court as a result of PRIA’s
initiatives. ‚ As a result
of PRIA’s intensive efforts
for the implementation of the RTI
Act, in letter and spirit, PIOs and
APIOs were appointed in many government
departments in the state.
