Simply stated, the basic object of the Right to Information Act 2005 is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of governance and make the government more accountable to the governed.
The Act is a big step towards making the citizens informed about the activities of the Government. Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen may request information from a public authority which is required to reply expeditiously and within 30 days. Right to Information is an implied fundamental right and the Right to Information Act amplifies the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution. Many rights activists regard the Right to Information Act 2005 as one of the best rights Acts globally.
Having said that, it does not mean that the Right to Information Act will act on its own. The citizens need to make use of the Act. How effective the Right to Information Act is, is directly dependent on how the citizens make use of it. It is simply a tool that has been given to the citizens and it is for the citizens to make use of the tool. The tool won’t work on its own.
In Mokokchung, the citizens seem to be unaware of the existence of the Right to Information Act. Hardly anybody is filing RTI applications. Could it be because the citizens already know everything about the functioning of the government establishments? Is it because everything is so transparent that nothing is hidden? Or, could it be that the citizens of Mokokchung do not care about how they are being governed? The reader is requested to answer himself.
Secondly, what happens when the information sought for is given? For instance, it took someone in Kohima to seek information regarding the amount of money that has been sanctioned for the Jal Jeevan Mission in Mokokchung district under the PHED. As reproduced in this newspaper in public interest, there were 20 villages that have been allotted a total of more than Rs.30.39 crore for water supply works. Just how much of that money has been judiciously used? If there are any concerned citizens in those 20 villages, they should seek information on how the money earmarked for their village has been or is being utilized.
Very often, information sought for and received under the Right to Information Act evaporates into thin air because nobody is willing to go the distance in unraveling the whole truth. Seeking and getting information is one thing, what you do with the information you have received is quite another.