In DU, RTI is used to settle personal stuff

[sidmis]

In DU, RTI is used to settle personal stuff

As Reported in Yahoo! News, Fri, Jul 18

The Right to Information (RTI) Act may have been conceived to bring about transparency and accountability in working, but at Delhi University (DU) it has evolved as a tool to achieve much more. Here, RTI applications are filed with the intention of settling personal scores and redressing grievances.

According to DU's Public Information Officer Deepak Vats, most of the RTI applications received by him are irrelevant in nature. "For students it has turned out to be the cheapest and fastest way of drawing the authority's attention towards personal problems usually relating to their degrees and marksheets.

Staff members seek rectification of pay problems and ask for interpretation of rules through this channel. People rarely seek information for public interest," rued Vats.

People, at times, even end up making requests that border on being bizarre. Last year the Information Officer received an application to change the name of the University.

"A gentleman from UP insisted in his RTI application that we name DU after his father who apparently was a freedom fighter," added Vats, who is also the Assistant Registrar of the Varsity. The ease with which such applications can be filed is the reason why students and teachers resort to it so often.

DU has already received a little over 700 applications since the beginning of this year.

In DU, RTI is used to settle personal stuff - Yahoo! India News

[prbhat_gen]

i feel that PIO Deepak Vats is trying to escape from his duties by saying "For students it has turned out to be the cheapest and fastest way of drawing the authority's attention towards personal problems usually relating to their degrees and marksheets".

as for the students nothing can be a more useful thing other than their degrees and marksheets. instead the PIO Vats should think of providing the degrees & marksheets on time and correctly to reduce the filing of RTI applications.

and certainly it can't be said as a 'cheapest' way of drawing attention. its actually the constitutional right of every indian citizen. its actually cheap on the part of the PIOs & other authorities to draw salaries and then not to provide students their degrees & marksheets.

[revribhav]

I fully agree with you,my employer insurance company has taken the similar argument to CIC against me,they insist that I am harrassing them seeking voluminous but inane information;although they have suspended me from service on the "grave"charge of leaving headquarter and another "grave" charge base upon some staff "complaints" that I was working against the interest of the company.

[sagginyou]

Information is information
whether it is genuine or ingenuine...
whether it is personl or impersonal
whether it is lenghty ofr short
PIO is dutybound to reveal it