Workshop on how to file an RTI and shake up things

Workshop on how to file an RTI and shake up things
Anjali Bharadwaj, co-convener of the National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information and founding member of Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) and Amrita Johri (member SNS) have been spreading awareness among masses on the RTI. In a workshop with Bennett University students, they talked about their experiences and what a good RTI application should contain.

The right tool for the masses


“Almost 60-70% RTIs are filed by people from rural areas,” Bharadwaj said.

The several awareness campaigns held by SNS have encouraged people from the slums and rural areas to file an RTI.
“The common people are not interested about information for the sake of information. They need information if it connected with their daily problems,” Bharadwaj said. In one of her rural campaign, people uncovered corruption in Ration Distribution Centers.
The RTI clearly states that any official record that can be presented to the parliament should be accessible by the public too. Any public information would be available to the citizens under the RTI act.

Yet there are some reasonable restrictions.

Exemptions

“One of the groups we worked with told us the dangers of releasing information about HIV patients from a hospital due to the social stigma attached,” Bharadwaj said. Any information that will cause personal distress to an individual is restricted.

Any kind of information that might harm the sovereignty of the country or information that has been declared classified by the court is also exempted from RTI.

In the second part of the workshop, Johri distributed the students into groups of four. Each group had to work on four topics and come up with question for the proper government departments. The topics were Rafale deal, Greater Noida Metro, Amount of emissions from cars and mid-day meals.
WhatsApp Image 2019-03-07 at 20.19.09 (1).

4 tips to make the perfect RTI

Johri held a practice session with the students where students must come up with questions for any issue ailing the country. She highlighted four things that a good RTI application should contain:

* Don’t club questions – A single pointer must contain only one question. This will provide clarity and the officer will find it easier to answer.

* Specify the time – The time frame of the information required should be mentioned or the officer will find it confusing to provide proper information.

* Always address the proper department – If an RTI is filed in the wrong department, it will get delayed as it would be forwarded to the correct department first.

* Don’t ask yes/no or direct questions – Officers will try to avoid questions, so the question should be framed as such that the officer is forced to provide information.

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