The Right to Information Act has been a powerful tool in the hands of the common citizen seeking to improve governance by pushing for transparency in the government. But over the years since its enactment, the Act has also been misused and has lost some of its strength due to misinterpretation by the information officers.
In a webinar organised by Moneylife Foundation, members and attendees had the privilege to listen to success stories and key learnings from four prominent RTI activists working in various parts of India. The session was organised with the intention to inspire others into filing RTIs to improve governance and reduce corruption in government organisations.
Senior journalist and activist Vinita Deshmukh, Mr Balvinder Singh, convenor of the RTI Sangarsh Movement in Jammu, Advocate Aditya Prasad, who works on environmental issues and Mr Amol Rackvi, who has been working on corruption and construction of illegal buildings, each shared their success stories with RTIs explaining how the Act has helped them uncover wrong doings. The session was presided over by retired Central Information Commissioner Mr Shailesh Gandhi.
The session saw attended of 120 people across Zoom, and YouTube and Facebook channels of Moneylife Foundation. A video recording of the session can be viewed below: