Though I had heard a lot about RTI, I had never
given much thought to it. But, when my father was forced to take the help of
RTI, I discovered for myself what a blessing it is for ordinary citizens of
this country. As we all know, lack of transparency and accountability is one of
the major reason for corruption. There are many schemes that the government and
its agencies put forward for the people. Many a times, it doesn't reach the people
to whom it was intended and if all it reaches them, it is only partially
delivered.
Being an agriculturist in this era of labour
shortage and high wages, is a tough task. Mechanization is slowly becoming the
norm of the day even in the rural areas these days. As such, the agricultural
departments are also promoting mechanization by providing subsides to farmers for
buying various agricultural tools.
Thus, one day, my father too bought agricultural
machinery (tiller) for which a 50% subsidy was announced. Upon applying for the
subsidy for the same, he was given a re-imbursement amount for 25% only. As he
was eligible for 50% subsidy, he went to the concerned office and asked why he
was given only half of it; he was told that the scheme was valid only from a
later date.
Convinced that he was given a false reason (for
whatever objective) he referred to the notification of the subsidy and
confirmed that he was indeed eligible for 50% subsidy and not 25% as claimed by
the official. He decided to fight for what was due to him.
What followed was a lengthy battle of
correspondence. My father filed an application under the RTI to know when the
scheme was launched and what % was the subsidy he was eligible to receive. He
got the information that he was eligible for 50% subsidy (at least a dozen
letters and follow up letters were exchanged in between).
When he approached the concerned department again
with the information, he was told that they came to know of the scheme only at
a later date and hence he was not eligible. This was followed by further correspondence
and all the lame excuses given by the officer at the agriculture office were
proved wrong with the help of information received through RTI.
And, after a lengthy battle against the indifferent
officers, which took more than a year, he got the copy of an order directing
the office concerned to pay the balance amount due to him as per the scheme. Though
the order was received a couple of weeks ago, the money has not yet been
released by the office. But, since the order has been passed, we hope that it would be paid,
sooner or later.
The notable factors in this whole episode are the
apathy and arrogance of the concerned officer. Perhaps he thought that being a
farmer, my father will think that whatever he said was true and be happy with
the 25% subsidy he got. But, he was wrong. Perhaps he has not seen many farmers
who are knowledgeable and ready to fight for what is rightly theirs…
It got me thinking… If my father too were an illiterate,
ignorant person, he would never have got the money that was rightly his. I
wonder how many poor farmers were cheated and not given the full amount due to
them. Most of them would have believed the officer and gone back thinking that they
were eligible for only 25% and not 50%.
This is a true story that happened in one of the smallest
offices in a small town of our country… I can’t even begin to think how much
corruption would be going on in other officers where poor and ignorant people
are often cheated. Sadly, it is often the most deserving people who are
deprived of their rights…
The silver lining is that if we can spread
awareness and fight for what is truly ours, then we can bring in some changes. RTI
is an important tool for common citizens of the country to claim what is theirs.
And, with perseverance and relentless efforts, many a things can be achieved.
Finally, it is to be noted that RTI Act in itself
cannot enforce any action. But the information received through the RTI is a
powerful tool in our hands that can help us in getting constructive results
from the concerned people.
Picture Courtesy: Google Images
