Need RTI help? Step into this clinic
It Will Help Citizens In Filing Petitions, Obtaining Information From Govt
Mumbai: The Right to Information (RTI) activism has acquired a new dimension
with a citizens group forming an RTI clinic at Mira-Bhayandar on Sunday. The
clinic, which will operate from a shop at Mira Road every Saturday between 8
and 9 pm, will help citizens with filing RTI petitions and getting information from different government bodies like the municipal corporation, electricity regulatory authorities and the police department.
At a well attended meeting at the Anjuman School ground in Mira Road, RTI
activists shared their experiences with around 400 office-bearers of
different housing societies of Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC).
Called by Movement for Peace and Justice (MPJ), a social organisation, the
meeting emphasised the need to use the RTI Act as a tool for empowering the
common man.
“The British might have left 57 years ago, but new, exploitative rulers
have replaced them. After a long and sustained struggle, we have got the RTI
Act which can help us get the long-awaited swaraj,” exhorted noted RTI
activist Sailesh Gandhi. Explaining the method of filing an RTI petition,
Gandhi said that any blank paper with just Rs 10 worth court fee stamp can
be used as an RTI petition. “You don’t have to visit various departments.
Just post it from your home to the public relations officer of the
department concerned. The PRO is required to reply within 30 days,” said
Gandhi, who gave the example of a 20 year-old boy from Bihar who had
effectively used RTI to get his ration card issued. “The corrupt rationing
officer was asking for a bribe of Rs 2,000. The boy didn’t pay a paisa, but
used the RTI route, and within two months the officer came knocking at his
door with the ration card,” said Gandhi.
Pramod Patil, an RTI activist who works in the Mira-Bhayandar area,
deplored the inadequate civic amenities for the area’s citizens. “There’s
not a single government hospital for a population of over seven lakh in
Mira-Bhayandar. But for a few private hospitals, including Bhakti Vedanta,
the casualties in the July train blasts at Mira Road would have been much
higher,” said Patil, stressing the need for at least two government
hospitals and primary health centres. Calling on citizens to become aware of
their rights and use the RTI Act as a weapon, Patil said, “Jab sawal
poochoge to jawab milega (They will answer only if you ask questions).”
President of MPJ, Mumbai, Dr Azeemuddin said the initiative was to create
awareness about the RTI Act because most of the time gullible people were
taken for a ride by unscrupulous authorities. “If the citizens keep quiet,
corruption will never vanish. We have resolved to take the message to people’s
doors,” said Azeemuddin, adding that an RTI expert would volunteer his
services every Saturday evening at Mira Road.