One-Day State Level Workshop on RTI

Date: 13/3/2011

Venue: Chotu Ram Dharmshala, Sonipat

Participants: RTI Activists, CSOs Members etc

Proceedings:

• The workshop was chaired by Ms Saroj Sharma, President ,SANJHA KADAM ,Sonepat
• Welcome of participants by Mr Ved Parkash (District Coordinator, Suchana Adhikar Manch ,Sonepat followed by the brief of the workshop by Mr. Subhash ,State Coordinator ,Haryana Suchana Adhikar Manch.

One-day State Level workshop of Haryana Suchana Adhikar Manch was organized at Chotu Ram Dharmshala; Sonipat dated March 13th, 2011. About 50 selected stakeholders from 6 districts participated in Programme. Suchana Adhikar Manch, Sonipat supported by PRIA since 2008-09, hosted this workshop. The main objective of this programme was as follow:

• How to strengthen Network for wider awareness generation drive at grass root level.
• To discuss about the current status of RTI Act in Haryana
• To provide a common platform to CLs /RTI activists to share their experiences.

Emerging responses:

• RTI Day- State Coordinator, Haryana Suchana Adhikar Manch pointed out that 12thOctober will be celebrated as a RTI Day and Mach organized a State level Programme at Rohtak to provide honor to RTI Activist
• Lack of knowledge on RTI: There is great need to aware common people as well as Public Information Officers (PIOs) about RTI Act.
• Proactive disclosure must be done: Proactive disclosure is mandatory in all public authorities as RTI Act, it must be done and needed to update regularly.
• PIOs are fined by SIC, but they are not making bound to provide information: In many cases PIO were fined by SIC, but even though information have not provided. There is need to compliance PIO for providing information.
• Appellant are threaten: The appellant are threaten, misbehave and punished for using RTI Act, it must be needed to take care by higher authorities.

Mrs Saroj Sharma, President SANJHA KADAM, Sonipat chaired the workshop and highly appreciated the Haryana Suchana Adhikar Manch endeavor to celebrate 12thOctober 2011 as a RTI Day. She shared that there is great need to aware community people particularly rural people about the basic provision of this act to bringing transparency and accountability in public authority.

Note: I want to share with you that 8 District level network on RTI formed by CSOs of SANJHHA KADAM, Citizen Leaders in Mahendergarh, Fatehabad, Hissar, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, Sirsa, Rewari districts of Haryana. Suchana Adhikar Manch –Sonepat is working very effectively.