A new service in the basket, Umri Panchyat, Madhya Pradesh
Suneel Sen, approached the Soochna Seva Kendra, Aron, M.P. Suneel Sen of Aron in Madhya Pradesh was put on the waiting list of candidates seeking appointment as the supervisor in the Women and Child Development Department. Though he was at the second position, the candidate at the third position who was older than Sen was selected. Sen sought information from the department about the basis of this recruitment but was refused any disclosure.
The Block Coordinator, Sachindra Bhargava, at the local Soochna Seva Kendra then pulled out a magazine he was handed during the ‘100-day Jawabdehi Yatra’ and called the toll-free RTI helpline number mentioned in in to for information and grievance registration. He was suggested to call the government department again and say, “Sir, it is our right to get this information.” They were further suggested to warn the official, if he refused to provide information again, that they will have to resort to filing a Right to Information (RTI) request.
The coordinator and Sen called the department and requested for information on the selected candidate’ selection? As expected, they were denied any information. Then, as guided by the helpline, they told the government official that they will seek information through RTI. After listening to this, the official asked them to call back after 10 minutes. Sen and the co-coordinator waited for 15 minutes and called back. To their surprise, this time, the official requested them not to resort to RTI and asked for Sen’s email ID. Within 20 minutes, they had received all relevant documents of the selected candidate in Sen’s inbox!
This is the impact of RTI, which Sen was ignorant of until he sought help from the Soochna Seva Kendra.
Later, the Soochna Seva team further enlightened him on the power of RTI. Merely mentioned ‘RTI’ had got the work done. The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in the real sense. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of governance and make the government more accountable to the governed. The Act is a big step towards making the citizens informed about the activities of and within the government.
Sen resolved to inform others like him about RTI and bring them to the Soochna Seva Kendra.
Related posts
