Second Anniversary of RTI

Jharkhand RTI Forum Cebrates Second Anniversary of RTI

Ranchi, 12 October : To mark the second anniversary of the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005 a symposium was organised by the Jharkhand RTI Forum in association with Gram Swaraj Abhiyan at Sandhya Tower, Ranchi. The benefits of the use of RTI including the future course of action were discussed during the symposium. Senior journalist and Resident Editor of Dhanbad and the convener of Jharkhand RTI Forum, Vishnu Rajgadia said, “The RTI Act has done miracle, it has provided benefits to the applicants in all areas.” He stressed the on the need to use RTI and felt that it would definitely provide the result if properly dealt with. The President of Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Arun Kumar Buddhia was present on the occasion that also stressed the need for the consistent use of RTI. Advisor to the Commissioner of the Supreme Court, Balram, said, “ We need think on the positive note about the RTI and its uses.” Senior journalist Sudhir Pal gave the examples of the RTI by Manthan Yuva Sansthan to collect information. Gopi Nath, Mritunjay Sharma, Shakti Pandey , Nilima Upadhya including others were present in the symposium.

South Asia Media

South Asia Media Colloquium-2006
Report of a interactive session on the ''Right to Information: Are the Media playing their role?'' as part of the three-day South Asia Media Colloquium-2006 the International Centre, Goa.
Click here to read

Manorama Trust Scam How did the huge property of Manorma Trust was converted in private and what was the role of the government. Vishnu Rajgadia as a journalist feels very much excited to have the complete file of the scam through RTI, earlier denied for a single word. Click here to read Union Minister pressurized for illegal transfer A historical victory for the Right to Information Act (RTI). Earlier, it was impossible to check misuse of power by VIPs. But the RTI has made it very simple. You can expose any misuse of power by paying merely ten rupees. Click here to read in cobrapost.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rti4ngo/message/592 ‘Ooof, woh RTI-walleh aa gaye’ By Freny Manecksha An interesting story on the experiment of Prabhat Khabar Institute Click here to read Is Media Playing its role Vishnu Rajgadia Published in the websites of central information commission and also at the official website of Govt. of India. This paper was prepared for and read at South Asia workshop at Goa in oct 2006, organized bu Amic-India, FES-India and UNESCO. click here to read

Is Media Playing its role

This is my paper published in the websites of central information commission and also at the official website of Govt. of India. This paper was prepared for and read at South Asia workshop at Goa in oct 2006, organized bu Amic-India, FES-India and UNESCO.
click here to read

DRIVE against BRIBE

Don't pay bribe. Use RTI, it works faster than bribes.

This was the slogan for Anti-Bribe Campaign, DRIVE AGAINST BRIBE. In Bihar and Jharkhand, It was co-ordinated by Vishnu Rajgadia on behalf of Prabhat Khabar.

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Status of NREGS

RTI exposes poor implementation of NREGS Vishnu Rajgadia Jharkhand was a fortunate state as it had got lions share in NREGS. Initially, 200 districts of the country were selected for the scheme. 20 districts of the Jharkhand were among the list out of them total 22 districts of the state. But the implementation of NREGS was very poor. On August 23rd of 2006, Vishnu Rajgadia filed a RTI application to provide details of the implementation of NREGS in each block. Denied for the information, he moved to State Information Commission. During the hearing, the PIO of Rural Development informed the commission that a request for information was sent to the Deputy Commissioners of 20 districts, but nobody provided the same. The commission felt that the implementing authorities itself lacking the information on block level regarding NREGS. Therefore, the commission summoned the 20 Deputy Commissioners to state whether they have the block level information on NREGS or not. The commission also wanted to know from the Principal Secretary of the Rural Development Department whether he gets the reports on implementations of NREGS in blocks or not. on 04.01.2007, for the first time in country, 21 IAS officers were summoned before a Information Commission. Some of them were present in person. The Principal Secretary of Rural Development had also appeared before the commission. Information provided were enough to disclose the poor implementation of NREGS.

Book Review : Tribune

HINDI REVIEW in The Sunday Tribune New-Age Brahmastra Soochnadhikar : Naya Loktantra, Nayi Patrakarita Arvind Kejriwal and Vishnu Rajgadia, Lohia Granthalya, Ranchi. Pages 112. Rs 225. (HB) Rs 65.00 (PB) Click here to read

Success Stories

Sugandh Kumar Gets Passport Transporter gets his due payment of Rs. 9 lakhs Electricity bill reduced from 5588 to 302

RTI for New Democracy

Vishnu Rajgadia The Right to Information Act 2005 enables every citizen access to public information from government records. Earlier, this access was available to citizens of only nine states in the country but with the enforcing of the central act on 12 October 2005 this right is now available to every citizen. Experiences suggest that in the states where the Right to Information Act has been implemented, it has become an important tool of social development and governance. Awareness among the people about the use of RTI has had a great effect on the working culture of the government. It has made the officials more responsible towards the dispensation of their duties. There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that a newly formed state like Jharkhand requires the RTI Act for enhancing its performance. Right to Information has provided a base for new democracy. Until now all public information was out of the reach of the people as it came under the purview of the Officials Secrets Act (1923). Right to Information has removed this cover. Hence, it has provided a lead on the basis of which the foundations of new democracy can be set. In this blog, you can find a lot of material which are self-explanatory for the word New Democracy.