How would you rate the functioning of the RTI Act five years into its enactment? It has been a mixed experience. It is encouraging that we have one of the best laws in the world but its shoddy implementation is taking the sheen away. The two nerve centers of RTI are simplifying the process of filing an application and making the functioning of the Commission effective. The posts of Information Commissioner...
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Information commissioners want transparent selection process
Five years after Right to Information (RTI) Act came into existence, Information Commissioners feel that there should be more transparency in their appointments. A survey conducted by Parivartan , an NGO, among state and central Information Commissioners , the final appellate authorities for RTI Act grievances and complaints, has found that 66% of commissioners surveyed want a transparent selection process. The survey found that Information Commissioners had reservations about the...
More »RTI Activist's Father Calls For CBI Probe in Son's Murder
Bhikhalal Jethva, father of slain RTI activist Amit Jethva who was shot dead in July, today filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court demanding a probe by CBI or any other independent agency into the death of his son. Bhikhalal, in his petition, has alleged that since BJP MP from Junagadh Dinu Solanki was behind the killing of Jethva and independent and impartial investigation was not being done by the...
More »‘The RTI Act has not done what it should’ by Ashutosh Shukla
“Has the Right to Information (RTI) Act served its purpose? Well, the answer is that it has not done what it should have,” said former judge of the Bombay high court, justice Hosbet Suresh, speaking at a function to celebrate five years of the RTI Act. Other speakers included Julio Ribeiro, and now retired state chief information commissioner Dr Suresh Joshi. The celebration took place at the Indian Merchant Chambers (IMC) and...
More »All You Need To Know...by Arpita Basu and Neha Bhatt
The youth will not take no for an answer. Five years on, the RTI comes of age. At four feet something, Santosh’s energy belies her petite frame. The school dropout was introduced to RTI through activist Arvind Kejriwal, and now, at Parivartan’s Sundar Nagri office, she holds fort, helping others acquire everything from BPL and ration cards to school admissions through RTI. Threats and attacks by local authorities who dubbed her...
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