Invaluable indeed

The Right to Information Act has indeed played an invaluable role in uncovering scams and scandals (“The power of RTI,” Nov. 5). We, the citizens of this country, should be proud of this Act because it is more powerful than the vote we exercise once in five years. If invoked properly, the RTI Act can bring about the much-needed transparency in the government’s functioning and pave the way for honest politicians to participate in our democracy.

S.A. Srinivasa Sarma,

Hyderabad

It is undeniable that government and quasi-government offices try hard to thwart the purpose of the RTI Act. The time schedules mandated by the Act for furnishing information and disposing of first appeals are seldom respected. Even the Information Commissions take unduly long to dispose of complaints and second appeals, and are usually soft on government employees.

I have found collectorates and local bodies to be habitual defaulters. A call for information on the issue of a patta for a building site remains to be complied with even after two appeals and two years. People’s awareness on the RTI Act is still very poor and much needs to be done.

V. Thiruvengadanathan,

Madurai

The RTI Act is one of the most powerful laws. It has been instrumental in unearthing many scams, scandals and gross misuse of official machinery. RTI and social activists, and the media deserve praise for stalling the proposed amendments to the Act.

E.M. Adithyan,

Edapal

The RTI Act has helped open up many government establishments for public scrutiny. Mediapersons and NGOs have gained enormously from the Act. Although “the genie is out of the bottle,” its intrinsic efficiency suffers due to inadequate resource allocation and infrastructure problem, especially lack of staff. This has led to inordinate delays in getting information.

Rameeza A. Rasheed,

Chennai