MAZDOOR KISAN SHAKTI SANGATHAN

Village: Devidungri, Post: Barar, District: Rajsamand, Rajasthan-313341

Tel: (02951) 243254, (01463) 288246, Tel Fax: (02951) 250180

Email: mkssrajasthan@yahoo.com, web: www.mkss.org

Press Release

ORISSA R.T.I. RULES TO BE REVISED

      Bhubaneswar, 23^rd December 2005

The Orissa RTI rules will be revised to make them citizen friendly & consistent with the Act, says Nabeen Patnaik, C.M. of Orissa told a delegation of Right to Information Activists led by Mrs. Aruna Roy.

Mrs. Roy, a member of the Mazdoor Kishan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan and the National Advisory Council, met the Chief Minister this morning to discuss issues connected with the implementation of the Right to Information and National Rural Employment Guarantee Acts in Orissa. She presented a memorandum to the Chief Minister detailing a number of lacunas in the Orissa RTI rules, which have been a focus of debate in the state. In particular, the fact that Orissa has the highest fees in the country, higher than the central fees, and that there are certain provisions, which are ultra vires the Act and serve to restrict its use by the citizen, was pointed out to the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister made a categorical assurance that the rules would be revised so that the fees would be appropriately reduced, and the provisions in the rules that were inconsistent with the Act would also be removed. He directed the Principal Secretary Mr. B.K. Patnaik and the Secretary Information Mr. D. Mohanty to take immediate steps to revise the rules to make them citizen friendly and progressive. He said the Government would run a campaign to popularize use of the Act.

The Chief Minister also responded favourably to the suggestion that a social audit campaign be conducted in Food for Work programme districts in collaboration with the Vigilance Department and Civil Society Organisations to curtail corruption and ensure the benefits reach the poor in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act areas.

Mrs. Roy’s meeting with the Chief Minister comes as a part of a four day programme in Puri and Bhubaneswar to ensure people’s participation in the implementation of the two important legislations enacted this year.

On December 19^th Mrs. Roy and her colleagues conducted a workshop with activists from 11 districts at the Gandhi Labour Foundation in Puri. Today on the 23^rd Mrs. Roy also had a meeting with the Information Commissioner of Orissa, and a meeting with public information officers and activists at the CYSD. She ended the day with a dialogue with citizens on the two Acts at the Presidency Hotel at Bhubaneswar organized by AGRAGAMEE. Those attending the meeting resolved that they would individually and collectively use the Right to Information act as responsible citizens in a democracy.

                                                                                                      s/d Nikhil Dey

                                                                 For the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), &

                                                           National Campaign for People’s Right to Information ( NCPRI)