Date:13/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/13/stories/2008101358390300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

RTI used mostly by men: CMS

Staff Reporter

Act requires every public authority to computerise records
Joint role of news media, academia and society mooted

VIJAYAWADA: The impact of the Right to Information Act is seen only in places where the news media and civil society organisations are working hand in hand, according to N. Bhaskara Rao, chairman of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS), New Delhi.

Speaking to the media on Sunday on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Act coming into force, Dr. Bhaskar Rao said that the Government, on its part, had done precious little on this count, except for introducing the law.

Under the provisions of the RTI Act, any citizen may seek information from a “public authority”, which would have to reply expeditiously or within 30 days. The Act also requires every public authority to computerise the records for wide dissemination of information and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

“While the aim is to detect and root out citizen-level corruption, it is not happening. There is an urgent need to break the nexus between bureaucrats and politicians to address larger issues confronting the Indian society,” he said.

According to the feedback received by the CMS, the RTI has so far been used mostly by men. “It is an irony that while most of the existing problems are women-oriented, the fairer sex has failed to make use of this opportunity,” he pointed out. The CMS study also points out that the Act has been utilised mostly by those in power and only by the population in metros. Majority of them have used it for personal reasons and the same set of people has benefited by the law more number of times.

New move needed

The CMS has mooted a joint role of news media, academia and the civil society to curb corruption at different levels. It feels that the Central Information commission formed for the purpose needs to be re-looked into. It has also suggested large-scale computerisation of government services. “We need to move on to a different phase now,” Dr. Bhaskar Rao said.