Day 78 – Q 3.The Right to Information Act is a marvel that has breached the barriers between the ruler and the ruled. Elucidate.

3. The Right to Information Act is a marvel that has breached the barriers between the ruler and the ruled. Elucidate. 

सूचना का अधिकार अधिनियम एक चमत्कार है जिसने शासक और शासित के बीच बाधाओं को तोड़ दिया है। स्पष्ट करें।

Introduction:

RTI act came into force in 2005 with an objective of bringing transparency in administration and empower the citizens through information. It has made the governance participative and has brought the administration closer to the government.

Body

Breaching the barrier between the ruler and the ruled:

• Participative governance: RTI enables the citizens to participate in governance with the information they obtain. They can give feedback, petition them through courts and ask for rationale of official decisions. E.g. The changes in MGNREGA projects in a village of Alwar, Rajasthan was changed by villagers after getting information about them through RTI.
• Psychological Barrier: Clouded with secrecy, administration was seldom in reach of the public. RTI has removed this barrier where in irrespective of power, status, one can obtain the required information from the administration which has taken away the unnecessary fear and distance of public with the government. E.g. Information of loan frauds by RBI (which hitherto seemed beyond reach) was obtained through RTI. 
• Effective grievance: RTI has bridged the hitherto cumbersome grievance mechanism which was difficult due to the unavailability of information. E.g. In Tamilnadu, a road accident victim received compensation only after they showed relevant documents obtained from RTI.
• Empowered citizens: It ensures the right of the citizens to acquire as much information they want regarding the governmental activities, rules and regulations, etc. This creates a room for better communication between the public authorities and the citizens. E.g. It was through RTI commonwealth scam, 3G scam was unearthed.
• Citizen centric approach:  As Aruna roy observed, ‘when any official holds a pen, he/she will have RTI in his mind. This is the best form of deterrence against corruption’. The possibility of official decisions sought out by public has bridged the phycological barrier between the officials and the citizens.
• Greater accountability: RTI has enabled citizens to unearth several scams and hold officials accountable. E.g. Adarsh society scam
• Proactive disclosure: The sec 4 of RTI which calls for suo moto disclosure of information has also removed the communicational barrier between citizens and administration.

Conclusion

RTI is depicted as the Master Key to Good Governance by the 2nd ARC. Informed, vibrant citizens are the key to any good administration and RTI ensures the same by strengthening of government-public relation due to the increase in communication. Thus, strengthening the act to empower the citizens more is vital.