LIFE project strengthening Right To Information (RTI) Act

Considering the importance of RTI act for better implementation of livelihood based government schemes or programmes; LIFE project in its project design included the concept of generating awareness and strengthening Right To Information (RTI) act amongst the target community and the concerned PRI representatives. In last 22 months (till Nov 2011) following are the key results in terms of capacity building on RTI act:

Practice on RTI	SJVS-Banswara	RCDSSS-Ajmer	Total
No. of RTI application filled by the target community to avail various livelihood based government schemes	02	10	12
No. of RTI application received answers	01	02	02
No. of RTI applications converted in to action process	01	03	03
No. of RTI applications have not received any answer even after 30 days of application	01	05	01
No. of target HHs aware about the RTI act ( basics)	50	150	200
No. of HHs know how to do RTI application filling	30	100	130
No. of Training/workshops being organized by LIFE team on RTI act and its application procedure	10	10	20

Source: Application of monitoring tools & monthly cluster reports

Anecdote:  RTI…has given pension for survival…

Deva / Baldev, aged 67 years from Kesarpura village (Mavashiya Panchayat, Shrinagar block, Ajmer, Rajasthan) has applied for the old age pension one year back with the support from LIFE project staff and orientation on different government schemes at village level. One year has passed but Deva has not received any pension from the government. He has shared his concern to the LIFE project staff Mr. Hemant (the field animator for the Kesarpura village) and Mr. Hemant has guided him on the concept of RTI (Right To Information Act) and suggested him to file an RTI to the concerned department (Social Justice and right department, Ajmer) regarding delay in pension and asking the reason for the same. 

Deva  has filed RTI on 16th June 2011 and within the week of his RTI his pension has started and he has received the pension of last 10 months at a time. He has received a total sum of Rs. 7645/- in his post office pass book for the old-age pension.

Now Deva is happy and sharing his knowledge on RTI to others and smiling with the thinking that in this old-age age he would be able to survive in better way with this support…he has shared that he has taken some money from his neighbour for some health treatment now he has paid that money back to the person with this pension money….for him projects like LIFE are really changing his life….

Change can be visualized that 12 RTI applications have been  filed by the community , which even did not have any idea or any information about RTI, before  starting the project. Through impact on RTI, actually we have made community to empower themeself to combat with the corruption existing in government systems from top to bottom.

Here IMPORTANT IS NOT THAT RTI APPLICATION, IMPORTANT CHHANGE IS NOW PEOPLE ARE AWARE ABOUT SUCH POWER, FROM WHERE THEY CAN GET INFORMATION IF SOMETHING DELAYS OR NOT HAPPENED, THEY CAN ASK-WHY , HOW, WHEN, WHAT, WHERE , & WHO!