Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Soon, a helpline in Gujarat to protect RTI applicants

Soon, a helpline in Gujarat to protect RTI applicants

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Oct 12, 2010   modified Modified on Oct 12, 2010

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the Ahmedabad-based Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP) has announced its plans to pioneer an effort to protect RTI applicants against any perceived or real threat.

The MAGP helplines: +919924085000 and 07926821553 (fax) will now take details of the applications, nature of threats, and addresses from such applicants and forward them, along with a complaint, to the concerned police station, the Superintendent of Police, the district collector and the state information commission.

“Those from the cities and towns can send us these details by fax, but people in the remote areas can dictate them over the phone if they cannot access a fax machine,” said MAGP co-ordinator Pankti Jog.

Jog said the move is partly due to the murder of seven RTI activists across the country. “Many callers have been talking about facing pressures to withdraw their applications, especially those that are concerned with human rights issues,” she said.

Another chief concern is the spread of RTI awareness in rural areas, from where the organisation has received many such complaints, she said. “Applicants in the rural areas tend to ask for information concerning caste and affirmative action schemes, which attract hostility,” she added.

Till date, the helpline claims to have received 58,307 calls from both within and outside Gujarat. Details released by MAGP on Monday showed that 75 per cent of the calls were made by citizens, a little less than a quarter by government officials, PIOs (11 per cent), retired government officers curious about their retirement dues (7 per cent), deemed PIOs (5 per cent) and other government officers (2 per cent).

Statistics also showed that the most common calls were from citizens who required help getting information on land entitlements (14 per cent), followed by retirement dues and welfare schemes (both 10 per cent) and development work (8 per cent).

The helpline also received more calls from people eager to know about the financial and performance details of trusts and NGOs than from those who required information about PSUs, forests and environment, NREGA or insurance claims. Jog said the trusts are usually those managing temples or mosques as well as those running health and educational services.

“Even for those trusts and NGOs not receiving direct funding, there are always details that can be gleaned from the Charity Commissioner or from government guidelines that govern these organisations in some way. We guide citizens on these things,” Jog added.


The Indian Express, 12 October, 2010, http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/696094/


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close