The role of Middlemen in RTI?

This refers to the news article posted here:
PM cautions against emergence of 'middlemen' in use of RTI Act


On the first anniversary of the RTI Act the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had cautioned against the emergence of 'professional middlemen' in the use of this Act as has been seen in some countries and also encouragement of rivalry among stakeholders of this nascent law.

I would rather say that 'Middlemen' have very important role to play in effective implementation of RTI Act in India. However, I can make a difference between Professional Middlemen & others.


The Professional Middlemen characteristics:

1. He is not driven by motive of any profit
2. His activities reflect more of public interest than just personal vendetta
3. He has portfolio in educating the masses regarding RTI implementation.
4. He is better in understanding the Government units.

Professional Middlemen as a category have much greater role to play primarily because they have resource to rightly know the Right to Information in a particular situation. Say for example what goes on the decision making in 'Railway board', more often does not affect a common man, however one who is close to the decision making machinery may have more issues to ask.

As the trend also suggest, majority of RTI application are personal in nature. Even if they do server somehow in the cause of transparency and accountability, it most of the time creates a defensive mechanism and personal stricture against the seeker and thus has limited applicability for the greater cause of RTI.

In one of the seminar which I attended, there was hardly any question by individual even though the audience ranged from Officers to businessman to learned section of the society. The most relevant questions was actually asked by 'Middlemen'.

Question by Individual: How is feudal mentality related to promulgation of RTI in the world?

Question by MiddleMen (Asking one of the Speaker, who was an Officer): When would your land record and revenue details be disclosed under Section 4 of RTI Act; the Proactive disclosure?

Obviously the reply to the first evoked a greater replies and much discussion than the silence in the second.

However, many a times individual do not know about processes, and fell into 'others' trap and they are the one I presume the Prime Minister said 'Professional Middlemen'. The RTI is not meant to start a business or the industry and should be discouraged. As one of the saying goes "Indian Laws are like scarecrows, they are build to frighten the birds, but later on the Birds build their nest into it'.


I would rather say, those professional Middlemen which I refer should be encouraged to make an RTI an tool for evolution than a dragger sword to destroy the societal structure and dynamics.

Senthil has very right pointed out this here! http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/315-post2.html