Right to Information defeating Corruption

When the Right to Information Act came into force a few weeks back, it came with a bang! The papers were exuberant about the amount of data that their reporters could now lay their hands on so as to uncover dirt through investigation.

But don’t we know that Indian journalists are yet to learn investigative journalism? All they reported was about the Act itself and its benefits; unfortunately, the journalists are yet to use them fruitfully.

The good news is, our NGOs are smarter! They have caught on and pounced on the government, the politicians and all their dirty tricks with such alacrity impressing even the Press.

Rediff reports:

Using the RTI Act, the MKSS made contractors to provide data on labourers employed by them and cross-checked that at the site where they were supposed to be working. This ended the muster roll scam.

A similar scam was unearthed by NGOs in Maharashtra in the road projects. Contractors were made to provide details of materials they had used in the construction. This was matched with a piece of asphalt road, dug up by NGOs and analysed in a laboratory. Discrepancies exposed why roads kept being built and getting eroded.

In the national capital, the Act was used to close gaping holes in the public distribution system. Ration shop owners used to siphon off grain, sugar and kerosene, made available at subsidised rates for distribution among the poor, to the open market.

…Last heard, ration shop owners were chasing customers to come and collect their ration-because, according to the rules, freight for not purchased rations (that have to be returned to the government godowns) had to be borne by the ration shop owner.

So is the Right to Information the bane for corruption? If so, this would be the ultimate law that the common Indian has been waiting for. Though this is not going to be the end all for petty corruption, it makes it much easier to patch the holes where the big bucks are slipping.

So while the constable and the tehsildar will keep demanding the notes under the table, we might at least be able to make the big contractors and ministers accountable. Some good news!

If you want to know more about the RTI Act itself, there is a detailed FAQ on what your Right to Information will yield.