13/10/2007
Utkarsh - A Society For Social Awakening & Change in association with MICCI (New Delhi) and FES (New Delhi) organized a workshop on Right To Information Act.

1/11/2007
Youth Forum For RTI  organized a seminar on "How To Use RTI For Good Governance" in Institute Of Management Studies making students aware of how  to use the Act.

15/11/2007
Youth Forum For RTI  visited a village and organized a small play to educate the village people and create awareness among them about the RTI Act for their development.

We often have to pay bribes in our interaction with government departments - be it getting a license, passport, ration card, registering an FIR etc. Sometimes even if bribe is not asked for, our work is still not done due to complacency of public officials and bureaucrats which results in our harassment and loss in cognitive energy. We all pay taxes. This money is taken from us with an assurance from government that it will be used for our well being. But nothing happens. Where does this money go? There is no water to drink in a country which has large number of water resources. The condition of the roads is so pathetic due to which many times people loose their lives. The government hospitals have no medicines in their stock, patients are living in insalubrious conditions and doctors are not present at the time of their duty. During rainy season the drainage system doesn't work properly. Likewise every department is deep involved in corruption and entire system has become rotten. They perform their duty only when some VIP is on a visit and complete the work in haste which is temporary.

So far people were helpless and could only curse the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the system and be a mute spectator. But now, we have a right to question the government, inspect their work, inspect their files, take copies of government documents and make them answerable for every question shot at them. The Parliament of India has passed a law which makes the common man of the country the ruler in the real sense. This law is known as Right To Information.

Right To Information Act came into force on 12th October, 2005. This Act empowers the citizens of our country to actively participate in the governance of the society and give a befitting reply to corruption. RTI Act enables the common man to closely monitor the functioning of all the departments under the purview of either the Central or State government or any other body which is created as per Constitution of India or by an Act of Parliament or Act of State legislature. Even the private organizations who are not directly under the purview of the RTI Act have some obligations.

The organizations either private or NGO's which benefit partly or substantially from the government are also under the purview of this Act. There are some organizations who are not covered in this Act, but the exclusion is not absolute and these organizations have an obligation to provide information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violation.

To download the Right To Information Act in PDF format click here

To download the RTI Application in PDF format click here

P.S. - If you want to share your experience of using the RTI Act, kindly click on Publish Testimonials link on top (if you are a registered user) or else Register first.