Coimbatore: Over 50 Right to Information (RTI) activists, students of law college and public from across the District gathered here on Tuesday for a Meet aimed at fostering awareness on the RTI Act, 2005.
Coimbatore: Over 50 Right to Information (RTI) activists, students of law college and public from across the District gathered here on Tuesday for a Meet aimed at fostering awareness on the RTI Act, 2005.
The Meet also focused on instilling awareness among the public to question and inspect government work, contracts and documents.
"RTI permits petitioners to visit Government premises and check documents, records, ledgers, agreements and even take notes, extract copies, take certified samples of materials and obtain documents from electronic storage devices. However, most of the public are still unaware of the powers of RTI and how the RTI Act will help check corruption," stressed K Hakkim, Founder of the Makkal Vizhipunarvu Arakkatalai. "Even educated people are unaware of the RTI Act. Instead of whining about corruption and injustice meted out to the citizens, the Act has to be utilised more effectively to bring corrupt officials before the justice system," he added.
Speaking at the event, Thiyagarajan, a city-based RTI activist pointed, "In spite of directions from the Tamil Nadu local bodies ombudsman in August under Section 4 (1) (b) of RTI Act, the City Corporation has not updated the resolutions in their website." He also threw light on the practical difficulties in filing RTI's and the importance of the Government being transparent to its citizens. "It is the responsibility of officials concerned to give information to RTI applicants," noted Thiyagarajan.
Theoretical and practical sessions on filing applications under the RTI Act was imparted to law college students and the public. The one-day session also served as a platform for all activists to meet each other and share their experiences.