In
Kerala,
Sahayi organised a state level
seminar on “Citizen Participation
in Accountable Governance:Right to
Information” in August 2006,which
launched a massive campaign for promoting
RTI in the state. This resulted in
the conducting of a state wide massive
awareness cum action programme
As
a response to this campaign effort,
Sahayi was flooded with enquiries
on the contents and use of the Act
in solving day to day problems. Many
applicants routed their applications
regarding the Act to different public
authorities through Sahayi. The applications
filed on the campaign days were submitted
to the public authorities and most
of the applicants reported prompt
and satisfactory responses to their
applications. Printed materials were
also distributed to raise the understanding
and application of the RTI Act
Moreover,
the practical difficulties faced by
people in using the Act were shared
with the State Information Commission
of Kerala. The campaign succeeded
in creating a favorable climate for
the promotion of the Act and its mass
understanding and practical utilisation
as an empowerment tool.
Training
Programmes and workshops
A
series of orientations was conducted
throughout the state, in which about
400 delegates participated. These
orientations helped the participants
understand the potential of the Act
as an instrument of good governance
and participatory governance.
Separate
programmes were conducted for CSOs,
Citizen Leaders (CLs), Elected Representatives
(ERs) and women’s networks.
The participants were thoroughly oriented
on the main provisions of the RTI
Act and on processes such as the drafting
of applications, appeal procedures
for first and second appeals.
A
dedicated helpline for providing consultancy
and legal support to various stakeholders
across the State was also launched.
The workshops raised a number of issues
for the State Government and the State
Information Commisssion (SIC),such
as the difficulties encountered in
filing applications, the mode of payment
of application fees and further fees
for obtaining information.
Promoting
Proactive disclosure
Efforts
were made during the RTI campaign
for making the public authorities
understand that they are required
to suo motu declare information on
the 17 points listed in Section 4
of the RTI Act.
There
was also public awareness created
on the Right to Information and the
mandatory requirement for proactive
disclosure by all public authorities.
As a result of Sahayi’s massive
campaign for RTI in the state, there
was awareness generation on the issue
of proactive disclosure (self disclosure)
and citizens demanded that all public
authorities declare such information,
so as to enable citizens to have access
to key information on the activities
of the public authority.
As
a result of this initiative, many
public authorities were made to disclose
information at the district and sub-district
levels. Many other public authorities
have committed to declare information
required under proactive disclosure.
Impact
As
a result of Sahayi’s massive
campaign on awareness generation and
orientation on the practical use of
the RTI Act, there were outstanding
successes achieved, including:-
•
Large-scale awareness was generated
on the RTI Act. • Elaborate
dissemination of information was made
through different media-banners, wall
writings, posters and pamphlets.
• A cadre of volunteers was
developed, which facilitated the effort
of people in filing applications under
the Act. • People achieved
success in getting responses to their
RTI applications from various government
departments. • Many citizen
leaders came forward to using the
RTI on information related to issues
and matters of public interest.
• The practical problems encountered
by people in using the Act were shared
with the State Information Commission.
• The RTI campaign received
wide publicity in the print and electronic
media. •Cases which were
pending with government authorities
for years were solved promptly, when
RTI was used. • Many Panchayats
and Municipalities were motivated
to proactively disclose information,
mandated under the RTI Act.
