Workshop on Right to Information and Right Food

Date: 29^th December, 2005

Hon’ble Governor, Orissa, Raj Bhavan, Bhubaneswar

SUB : Resolution demanding replacement of anti-people Orissa RTI Rules framed under Right to Information Act 2005 by the appropriate, citizen-friendly Rules to be made in due manner in conformity with the mother Act- adopted in the ‘Workshop on Right to Food and Information’ held at Rajranapur in Nayagarh district on 28/29 December 2005

Hon’ble Sir,

A two-day ‘Workshop on Right to Food and Right to Information’ was held at Rajaranapur in Nayagarh district on 28/29 December 2005 under the joint aegis of Maa Maninag Jungle Surakshya Parisad (MMJSP) and Vasundhara, where 60 delegates hailing from cross sections of society, such as PR representatives, forest protection workers, political activists, NGOs, village headmen, teachers, lawyers, and cooperative organizers took part in the deliberations spanning several sessions. Inaugurated by an eminent social leader of the area Sri Narasingh Das, the proceedings of the Workshop was conducted under the chairmanship of Sri Ananta Sethi, Vice- president of MMJSP.

Sri Chitta Behera, Advisor to Orissa Campaign for Right to Information, who imparted training on the clause-wise provisions of RTI 2005, showed by way of a detail analysis as to how the Orissa RTI Rules is fully ultra vires the mother law, RTI Act 2005. Sri Raj Kishore Mishra, Programme Officer of Vasundhara apprised the delegates about various Food Security Schemes currently in operation through out the States and elaborated on the entitlements of the people under these Schemes and the procedure to avail them.

Based upon the consensus of the delegates, a Resolution was adopted on the following two matters centring round Right to Information in Orissa :

· A Memorandum should be addressed to Governor Orissa with intimation to all concerned authorities in the State and at Centre ( Chief Minister, Minister of State for I and PR, Speaker, Chief Information Commissioner Orissa, and Secretary Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances, GOI) for replacing the anti-people Orissa RTI Rules framed under Right to Information Act 2005 by the appropriate, citizen-friendly Rules to be made in due manner in conformity with the mother Act;

· Until the existing, uncongenial Orissa RTI Rules are not amended by the Government, the common people should avail the provision made under Section 4 of the RTI Act for accessing 17 suo moto categories of official information from each public authority, for which no application or application fee or post-application waiting time is applicable, and in the event of any obstruction created by any public authority against anybody seeking information under this provision, should directly lodge their complaint against such public authority before the State Information Commission as permissible under Section 18 of the Act, for which no appeal fee or any application format are required.

We urge your august office to consider the attached Memorandum and do the needful at the earliest for appropriate changes that deserve to be made in the unjust and illegitimate Orissa RTI Rules 2005, in the interest of the people and rule of law itself.

Respectfully yours,

ON BEHALF OF THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE WORKSHOP

Arakhit Sahoo, Secretary Prasant Mohanty

Maa Maninag Jungle Surakshya Parishad, Programme Officer

At/PO- Rajaranapur, Dist: Nayagarh Vasundhara

15, Sahid Nagar, Bhubneswar-7

CC:

1) Chief Minister, Orissa, Bhubaneswar

2) Minister of State for Information and Public Relations, Orissa, Bhubaneswar

3) Speaker Orissa Legislative Assembly, Bhubaneswar

4) Orissa Chief Information Commissioner, Govt Guest House, Bhubaneswar

5) Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances, Govt of India, New Delhi

Encl: 1) List of Participants of the Workshop, and

2) Memorandum from the participants of the Workshop, and