> Badri Natarajan wrote: > >> I really don't know much about RTI in India, but I suspect that the >> issues > > But you are sure that it is hard and time consuming?
Oh yes. The discovery process in litigation basically involves each party in the case sending requests like RTI requests to each other for information/documentation and I know just how painful it is to find and collate responses to requests like that. I don't know exactly how RTI is structured in India - I think requests go to a specific officer in the relevant department in charge of RTI and then he has to get the requested information out of the relevant people in the dept. I also have a lot of experience trying to get information out of my clients and it is just not that easy. > >> are more around lack of funding and resources on the government and not >> so >> much the provisions of the Act. I mean, just because it is hard and time > > They are the same chaps who also fund other government projects, they > should know, yes? They probably *know*. I suspect they're just not keen on funding something that can be used to shine a light on their activities. > >> consuming doesn't mean it isn't a valuable tool.. > > Valuable at what cost? If I am paying tax to fund frivolous RTI > requests, or fine for not providing that information, I am ok with going > back to the time before RTI. As a citizen, I don't see any direct impact > on my life. I read about it in the news, that sums up what it does for me. It's a fair question about whether the cost/benefit is worth it. I have read articles (no cite handy) about the impact of RTI, how it is empowering villagers, etc, etc, so I think even in the watered down version that was passed, it is having a positive impact. Personally, unless the scale of frivolity is shown to be enormous, I think the cost-benefit is worth it in a place like India where it is very difficult to get information out of the government or hold it accountable. Badri
