News -- Government Grants Citizens 'Right to Know' Sidharth Pandey / NDTV
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=15294&n_tit=Government+Grants+Citizens+%27Right+to+Know%27+ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Delhi, Oct 12: Ever been told by a government officer that your passport application, or ration card or even the power connection to your house will not be processed unless palms are greased? There is now a way to fight back. A new law that comes into effect today guarantees every Indian the right to know exactly what the government is up to. All this information will be accessible simply by filling up a form. Seeking answers Uday Gosain returned to the capital from Germany where had been working for several years. The first thing that literally hit him on his arrival in the city, were the potholes on the road to his home in Vasant Kunj in south Delhi. When no repairs were carried out on the road, which had been laid recently, Uday filed a questionnaire under the Delhi Right to Information Act, asking the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to explain why the road was in such a bad condition. Uday also asked for the road to be inspected in his presence. "It was a miracle. One week before the inspection the road was being built and even the pothole, which had come up the night before was perfectly filled the next morning," said Uday. Public rights So far nine states including Delhi, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir had enacted their own state laws on right to information, which allows citizens to ask for just about any government project or even the status of their ration card or the laying of water connections. But from midnight tonight, with the Right To Information Act of 2005, passed by Parliament, finally coming into effect across the country any one can demand answers from the government by approaching each department. For this, each state and the Centre will appoint information commissioners. So far however, only Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Karnataka have managed to do so. Public rights activists say that this is one of the most important legislations since independence, which will not only make the government more accountable but give the citizens a greater say in the governance. However, campaigners also say their next challenge will be to ensure that people get this right. ======================================================================================== *~Jen Birmingham UK http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VascokarsUnited/ __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com
