Residents of two ex-CMs’ villages unaware of RTI Act: Survey

It has been 19 years since the Right to Information (RTI) Act came into force. However, a majority of people are still not aware of the RTI Act.

This has been indicated by the findings of a survey conducted in the native villages of former Haryana Chief Ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Manohar Lal Khattar by the Haryana Soochna Adhikar Manch.

The convener of the manch and noted RTI activist Subhash said the purpose of the survey was to assess how many people in the rural areas were aware of the RTI Act.

“Hooda’s native village Sanghi and Khattar’s native village Baniyani, both of which are in Rohtak district, were selected for the survey, “he stated, pointing out that Sanghi and Baniyani are located at almost equal distance from the district headquarters on Panipat and Bhiwani roads, respectively. The survey revealed that almost 70 per cent residents of Sanghi village did not know about the RTI Act, though 5 per cent residents of the village had utilised the RTI Act.

Subhash disclosed that 300 residents of Sanghi village, including 200 men and 100 women, participated in the survey. The participants included in the survey were in the age-group of 20 to 70 years. These included serving and retired employees, farmers, shopkeepers, private workers and home-makers (housewives).

“Only 30 per cent of the residents were aware of the RTI Act, while 5 per cent of them had used it to get information from various departments. 15 per cent of the village residents said they had heard about the RTI Act, but knew only that it was a law to demand information from the sarpanch,” said the survey report.

In Baniyani village, 200 residents, including 150 men and 50 women participated in the survey. Of them, 85 per cent residents did not know about the RTI Act, while 2 per cent of them had used the Act to seek information.

The participants included unemployed persons, labourers, farmers, self-employed residents, students and housewives. Shockingly, 99 per cent of the women surveyed in Baniyani village had not even heard about the RTI Act.

“Among the men, 15 per cent had heard about the Act and 2 per cent had also used it,” said the report. Subhash said as per the survey, a majority of the residents of both Sanghi and Baniyani villages were not aware of this law. “Most people are not aware about the preparation of RTI application, the procedure to file it and payment of application fees. Especially, the women lack knowledge about the Act and its utility. The common perception about the RTI Act in the villages is that it is a law for seeking information from the sarpanch,” he said.