Re: Debate: What rights to information?

[Guru Chopra <gchopra@jp1.vsnl.net.in>]

There was an agitation in Rajasthan last year, spearheaded among others by
Mr. Bunker Roy's wife Aruna, for a legislation, as The Cheif Minister had
failed to keep up his promise to provide such a right. The agitators sat on
Dharna for weeks in Jaipur, the agitators having been patronized and
encouraged by some well known public figures, Kuldip Nayar being one of
them. This agitation had ended with the agitators celebrating their victory
following a statement by the Deputy Chief  Minister that the govt had given
this right quite sometime ago and that the right already existed on the
statute book. Apparently the agitators were satisfied that they had


Sanjeev Sabhlok <sabhlok@almaak.usc.edu>
achieved what they had sought. 

There were comments in the press casting aspersions on the integrity of the
agitators, which I had then dismissed as usual hype of the skeptics. But
the truth is that we do not see any sign of t revolutionary exposures of
corruption at the village panchayat levels that this right was expected to
bring about. Even if the information was to be available at some fee, or
had to be copied out by hand (as the bureaucrats said they do not have
photocopy machines), one expected that there were enough interested parties
to take the trouble of exposing corruption -- for example, the local press,
competing politicians or corrupt competing contractors. It will be really
interesting to know why the legislation did not bring about the results
that it was expected to explode. Mr. Bunker Roy, with the excellent work he
had been doing in the villages, may be able to throw some light on this. It
is very important to understand this as our PM has promised to enact such
law for the whole country. Experience of Rajasthan may have some lessons to
teach.  
 > > >>
> > >> THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
> > >>                               - Bunker Roy
> > >>
> > >> The crucial issue facing the rural poor today in India
> > >> is very simple.  Does a poor illiterate peasant,
> > >> landless labourer, artisan and rural woman have a right
> > >> to demand from the Government details of development
> > >> expenditure carried out in their own village ? Do they
> > >> have the right to ask for  copies of bills and
> > >> vouchers
> > >> and names of persons who have been paid wages contained
> > >> in 'muster rolls' on the construction of schools,
> > >> dispensaries, small dams and community centres that on
> > >> paper have been shown to have been completed? If they
> > >> are willing to pay for these documents to be
> > >> photocopied which could also serve as certified copies
> > >> in case any police cases have to be registered against
> > >> village officials or politicians for embezzlement,
> > >> corruption or misappropriation, can the government
> > >> refuse?
 


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