Guwahati, Dec 16 NNN : Cases of harassment meted out to the applicants of the Right To Information (RTI) Act in Assam has been increased in recent past which worried activists of RTI. Pn Friday, Assam RTI Forum (ARTIF), the leading forum of RTI activists in thestate alleged that the nexus between corrupt bureaucrats, contractors which enjoyed blessings from state ministers and MLAs are responsible for the increase in the harassment cases meted out to the RTI activists.
“The number of cases of harassment to RTI applicants are fast rising in Assam in recent times. We have got large number of complaints and these cases are mainly from rural areas. We are tracking several such cases and disseminate these informations to concerned authorities”, said Manisha Behal, chairperson of ARTIF. Manisha Behal said that it was high time for the state to have a full bench in the state RTI commission as it would help in tracking different kind of cases relating to the Act in the state.
Citing an instance the ARTIF alleged that one Hiteswar Lahkar hails from Nalbari district of the state sought information under RTI Act on spending of NREGA funds meant for two village panchayats of his district. Lahkar alleged that after filing an RTI application, he received threatening calls several times from unknown callers who pressurized him to withdraw the application. “I finally lodged an FIR at Ghagrapar police station. Initially the police hesitated to register the case but later registered it when State Information Commission took up the matter”, said Lahkar.
Debajit Goswami , secretary of ARTIF said that transparency of RTI machinery in the state is very important as almost everyday in the state there have been reports about misuse of government funds in many government departments but in most cases.
, PIO (Public Information Officer)s of these departments failed to provide information to RTI applicants.
IH Borbora, another RTI activist alleged that the government of Assam’s tendency to appoint retired bureaucrats as information commissioners had diluted the very spirit of the Act.
ARTIF has decided to start awareness campaign in rural areas about the use of RTI Act.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/rti-activist-harassed/
