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Dimapur, Sep. 29 (EMN): Describing the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 as a powerful tool to transform the functioning of government and its officials, assistant professor of Law and president of Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO), Kezhokhoto Savi has advised law students to promote the act in the state especially in villages.
Savi stated this while speaking at the release of the Kohima Law College’s annual magazine on September 28. He elaborated that access to information under RTI is one of the most powerful tools that has been provided to the citizens of the country, an update from NVCO media cell stated on Tuesday.
He stated that the impact of RTI in Nagaland in the last 10 years (2006 – 2016) was low in all the district headquarters and even lower in rural areas.
As awareness is still lacking, he stated that education of the act is more important in the villages as more disclosure are required in various schemes/ VDB/ projects/ BPL/ LADP schemes/ PDS/ MGNREGA/ government funding meant for villages.
Savi lauded the Kohima Village Council (KVC) for filing complaint against Nagaland chief minister on implementation of MGNREGA in which they have alleged that the department was demanding 80% of the material component cost from the work orders issued. The council also alleged that there are lakhs of forged signatures by the VDBs at the directive of the department.
Savi, who is also an RTI activist, called upon the village council members to come forward and lodge complaints against misuse of authority by government officials. He reminded that Section 3 of the act provides – “all citizens shall have the right to information” or “Act confers the right to information on all citizens.” He, therefore, stated that anyone, who is a citizen of the country, could file an RTI application to PIO or CPIO.
Stating that it is important for everyone especially in villages to exercise their right to get information in every government establishment, Savi urged law students to encourage villagers or people of various constituencies to come forward without any fear or hesitation to seek information through an RTI application to obtain detail information relating to various schemes/ BPL/ PDS/ VDB/ projects/ MGNREGA/ LADP schemes/ MLA fund/ government funding meant for development of the villages and constituencies.
“No authority can stop any citizen/ villager from seeking information through RTI Act. The ignorance of RTI is being exhibited by the fact that some village councils impose fines on citizens who seek information through the RTI,” Savi said.
He cited an instance where RTI applicants were imposed fine as per the village council resolution. The village council had resolved that no one should file any RTI application without the consultations of village authority, which later came to the knowledge of the Nagaland Information Commission.
Savi enlightened that as per the RTI Act, no consultation or permission is required in using or exercising RTI. He further stated that more information is available in the book “The impact of Right to Information (RTI) in Nagaland for the last ten (2006-2016)” published by Nagaland Information Commission and NVCO during the 10th anniversary of RTI in Nagaland held on the theme “Information is power”.