TEAM HERALD
VALPOI: Mahiti Adhikar Gujrat Pahel (MAGP) and Goa RTI Forum created awareness among rural villagers with regard to the procedure of filing RTI applications.
Addressing a press conference at Valpoi, members of MAGP and Goa RTI Forum said the Forum has observed that very less number of RTI applications are filed from rural areas.
The members said MAGP, a voluntary organisation, will launch an ‘RTI on Wheels’ caravan in the rural pockets of Goa, on completion of seven years of the enactment of RTI Act on October 12.
“The primary objective of the Yatra is to create awareness among the tribals in interior areas about RTI Act and encourage them to access information about various developmental schemes in their areas,” said a member.
Equipped with LCD projector, screen, computer with wi-fi connection, scanner, printer and a small library, a private vehicle will be manned by four-five volunteers of MAGP.
It will screen films on RTI and impart half a day training to draft RTI applications to the educated youth in small towns and villages it visits on its route.
Lectures through video-conferencing by RTI experts by using Skype call will also be arranged, followed by a question-answer session.
The van is also equipped with solar panels to ensure that it does not depend on battery or diesel for power supply to electronic gadgets. The caravan will also distribute literature in local language on the importance of RTI in bringing improvement in delivery of government services in their areas.
The 10-day tour covering rural dominated villages of Goa, named as ‘RTI Bharat Yatra’ will cover tribal regions across the country. It will be kicked off from Gujarat on October 2 and will crossg through Maharashtra and enter Goa in the last week of October.
In subsequent phases, the yatra will cover Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur.
Speaking further, MAGP representatives Pankti Jog and Adv Shivaji Dessai said rural areas accounted for the least RTI applications in the country.
MAGP also has a RTI Helpline service called ‘Legal Clinic’, where any citizen can call and ask for assistance. This service is operational on every Saturday between 4 and 6 pm, and the helpline number is 09924085000, Jog added.
