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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Gujarat govt to put RTI activists under scanner by Dilip Patel

Gujarat govt to put RTI activists under scanner by Dilip Patel

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published Published on Jul 23, 2011   modified Modified on Jul 23, 2011

 

Revenue dept issues direction to district collectors to provide details and particulars about all the activists seeking information under RTI Act

In a move likely to raise a controversy, the state government is planning to keep all the RTI activists under  scanner. The state revenue department is learnt to have asked the district collectors to submit the details and particulars of all RTI activists from their districts, who have been filing applications and seeking information regularly. The instructions were given during a meeting of district collectors on Thursday.  

To keep a tab

The state government officials, while citing recent instances of attack on RTI activists, claimed that the initiative was being taken to keep a tab and thus provide protection to them. They also maintained that the move will help curbing the practice in which information received through the application was being misused.   

Activists do not agree

Opposition members and RTI activists however do not buy this argument, and maintained there was a ‘hidden agenda’ behind  the move, which. Through this move, the government wants to pressurise and threaten the information seekers, they claimed.  

According to them, the government was finding it hard to cope with the increasing accountability and the explanations which it had to give in response to the queries being raised under RTI application and thus wanted to curb the practice by the recent move.

‘Govt cornered’

“The government has been cornered on a number of occasions, on the basis of information received through applications filed through RTI act. Even during the last assembly session, it was on defensive on the issue of providing land to industrialists, the details of which were procured through RTI application.

“The move is nothing but a desperate attempt to threaten such activists,” said Pradesh Congress Committee president and MLA Arjun Modhwadia.  Similar were the views of RTI activists, who described the move as undemocratic.   

“The government wants to black list the activists. The details and information collected will be given to intelligence personnel and identified activists would be harassed and pressurised. It’s clear that the government does not want to see anyone pointing out at its shortcomings and failures,’ said Rohit Prajapati an environmentalist and an RTI activist.

Improve the process

Prajapati and several other activists claimed that instead of carrying out such exercise, the government should improve the process under which information is being given. “I have never received complete information in response to any application under RTI. Many a times, the information is irrelevant and different from what has been asked for,” said Prajapati.

It is learnt that over 1000 such complaints against various departments are pending  with the Gujarat Information Commission (GIC). Presently, about 100 complaints are being disposed of every month. Officials maintain that the Commission has not been able to deal promptly with the complaints mainly because of inadequate staff, which they said, is only 40 per cent of required strength.

Other instructions

» Prepare and maintain records about encroachments on government land and property.  

» Maintain records about the handing over of government land to the registered trusts, in view of  govenment’s proposed policy in this regard.

» Take steps for ensuring that Supreme Court directions with regard to maintaining and preserving forest land are complied with.    

Ahmedabad Mirror, 22 July, 2011, http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20110722201107220244504382c648219/Gujarat-govt-to-put-RTI-activists-under-scanner-.html


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