MY STAND ON RIGHT TO INFORMATION by Adv. Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar

After years of hectic lobbying, the efforts of civil society for getting the Right to information law were finally rewarded on 15 June 2005 when the President of India gave his assent to the Right to Information Act 2005. Over the last five years however the greater challenge has been the actual implementation of the Act.

The Right to Information Act has been hailed as the hallmark of our democracy. The Act aims at making the government transparent and more accountable. The effective use of it would, in the long run, curb corruption. 'Right to Information' act has become a powerful tool in exposing corruption at top places in the government

The Right to Information is derived from our fundamental right of expression under Article 19. If we do not have information on how our Government and public institutions function, we cannot express any informed opinion on it. This has been reiterated by various Supreme Court judgments, since 1977.

Bureaucrats have been conditioned to conceal and not to reveal information. They are not accustomed to providing information freely. This has all changed with the RTI Act. The 'good' bureaucrats, who have nothing to hide, and thus, nothing to fear, have welcomed this change. These are the good officials who are genuinely interested in the betterment of Goa. However the 'bad' bureaucrats, who are either corrupt, or simply have a non- cooperative attitude, are now compelled to fall in line with the RTI Act. .

After having been exposed by the RTI act, politicians are already considering modifying the act to escape its ambit. Even former Chief justice of the Supreme Court K G Balakrishnan just before his retirement asked the government to exempt the Chief Justices from the RTI act. Any attempt to dilute the RTI Act should not be allowed.

Goa’s Raj Bhavan has been declining to furnish any information under the Right to Information Act claiming that it is not a “Public Authority”. This explanation given by the Raj Bhavan to circumvent the RTI Act is not acceptable. It is deplorable that the Governor of Goa as head of the State was himself trying to scuttle an Act which was enacted to ensure transparency and accountability in the functioning of the administration.

The stand taken by current Governor of Goa Dr. S.S.Sidhu is deplorable more so because he is a retired senior bureaucrat and not a politician. The Goa Raj Bhavan cannot be allowed to breach its constitutional obligation of having to comply with the Right to Information Act. With the exception of Goa all other Raj Bhavans are complying with the Right to Information Act. Instead of strengthening the RTI law, the Goa Governor has allowed it to be weakened.

We are all part of society and if there is something wrong we must all take responsibility. The RTI Act is a tool that can be used by every individual to make an impact and bring about change. A properly worded RTI application with a 10 rupee stamp on it is all it takes.

India has finally woken up to realize that right to information is a key component in the attainment of economic, social and political rights of an individual as well as the community at large.

We all have to be ardent supporters of the RTI Act. A lot of information was earlier suppressed by the Government, allowing room for corruption. Now the RTI should give the Aam Aadmi a feeling of participation. Thanks to RTI Act the fees of the Advocate General of Goa have been brought down from 15 lakhs to 5 lakhs a month.

A few thousand RTI applications across Goa by concerned citizens on issues concerning the public can usher in a major change in Goa. There should be a determined move towards our true liberation. There is a need to spread the usage of this Act so that transparency and good governance triumphs. We now have the power; we only need to use it. The RTI Act is very simple to use. The benefits can be immense. The Act is very user friendly. It is not enough to be only a desh premi, we all need to be RTI premi too.

(the writer can be contacted on 9822684372 or airesrodrigues@yahoo.com)