HYDERABAD: Chief information commissioner Jannath Hussain called upon the campaign activists of the Right to Information Act (RTI) to organise awareness camps to get information regarding all welfare schemes of the government. He was the chief guest at a discussion on the RTI Act organised by the United Forum for RTI campaign here today.
Addressing the gathering, Jannath Hussain said there was an immediate need to create awareness among the people to utilise the RTI Act to get information of all government activities.
The RTI was also providing all memoranda of understandings (MoU), which were signed by the governments with various companies. “I observed that people are not utilising the Act due to lack of awareness and there is a need to motivate them by organising awareness camps,’’ he said.
He said people can get information from any department of the state or central government, panchayati raj institutions, or from any other organisation (including NGOs) that is established, constituted, owned, controlled directly or indirectly by the state or Central government.
Speaking on the occasion information commissioner Dileep Reddy said that if some ration shopkeeper was not giving rations properly, people should conduct an audit of him by seeking his records. “You should file an application for getting information of public services, like LPG cylinder deliveries, ration shops activities on whether the cause of delay is due to lack of supply or because the deliverer is expecting a bribe,’’ he added.
B Ramakrishna Raju, convener of the United Forum for RTI campaign, said that the forum is an umbrella organisation of around 80 civil societies working for the effective implementation and bringing awareness about the utility of the RTI Act among the people particularly in rural areas.
In view of increasing cases of killing, threats and physical violence on RTI activists, the forum requested Jannath Hussain to write to the district collectors and the police to give protection whenever an activist approaches them with fear of attack.
“An RTI campaign activist Sola Ranga Rao was killed in April as he strived to create awareness among the people on the RTI Act in Krishna district. As many as 10 activists of RTI campaigning were killed across the country,’’ Ramakrishna Raju said.
