‘I ensure that access is granted to information’

[karira]

As reported by Rahul Mangaonkar in Times Of India on 17 March 2008:
Welcome

‘I ensure that access is granted to information’

APIC Information Commissioner Is Here For Inauguration of ‘RTI on Wheels’

Ahmedabad: Among all the leading stalwarts of RTI, like M a g s ay s ay award winner Arvind Kejriwal and Nikhil Dey of Majdoor Kisan Shakti Sang at h a n (MKSS), who will be here for inauguration of the ‘RTI on Wheels’, there is one person who stands out — information commissioner of Andhra Pradesh Information Commission (APIC) R Dileep Reddy.

Reddy is the first journalist to become a commissioner under the RTI Act, 2005. “I was a journalist for 17 years, heading the Delhi bureau of a media group when I was asked to join as commissioner. I took oath on November 16, 2005,” says Reddy.

“I have seen it as a journalist and now I can see it as a commissioner as well — government officers misusing their positions through arbitrary use of power. Now, I see to it that access is granted to information,,” he adds.

In AP just like Gujarat, there was no RTI before the national Act came into force. But unlike Gujarat where citizen’s awareness drives were spearheaded by civil society organizations like Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP) — on whose invitation Reddy has come calling — and the media, in AP it started late. In 2006, there were about 8,000-odd applications from all the 23 districts in AP. Says Reddy, “Only in mid-last year an umbrella organization like MAGP came into being under the banner of ‘United Forum of RTI’. Their campaigns in various districts increased awareness and the RTI wave grew fourfold with 32,000 applications being filed last year.”

The surprise visits by the information commissioners to district headquarters and offices to check for proactive disclosures also helped in creating awareness among officers. This also helped according to him in reducing pendency of applications.

Last year, he says, of the 32,800 applications received, 27,800 were disposed of at the PIO level with information being provided in 25,000 cases. Reddy has a message for the media as well, “Use RTI and write as much as you can about exposing government’s misdeeds its negative aspects.”



R Dileep Reddy

[wagh7]

Dear sir shri R Dileep Reddy

It is great Mr.Reddy that you are asking media to write and use RTI Act, 2005 as much as they can about exposing govt. misdeeds ..

Media only can much expose the govt.'s misdeeds. \

I suggest that insted of telling govt.'s misdeeds we can say it as misdeeds of information providing authorities. Because all this misdeeds in govt. is done by some or the other Officers.

Hence I suggest to Media and the SIC/CIC that these officers should be charged, fined and all IPC sections should be used for not providing information/providing partial information or providing false information. The PA want to harrash the applicants and do such action so that further nobody should file RTI application, they want to to pass the time, so that RTI Activists and RTI applicants be demotivated, disgussed.

Some PIOs/AAs think that by doing so, they will be reducing RTI applications.



rakatkam.