It is a truism that the efforts to promote
global transparency start at the local level. A survey of the efforts to adopt
freedom of information (FOI) legislations around the world reveals that the contribution
of local campaigns was important, if not critical, in bringing the issue of
transparency to the fore in public discourse. For example, the efforts to adopt
FOI laws in India, the United Kingdom and South Africa, benefited from local
campaigns spearheaded by grassroots and local civil society organisations
(CSOs) like the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sanghatan (MKSS), Campaign for Freedom of Information, and Open Democracy Advice Centre of South
Africa, to name a few.
More importantly, the significance of local
efforts is magnified after the adoption of FOI laws in various countries. A
recent report on the
implementation of FOI, prepared by the World Bank, located the CSOs at the
centre of the efforts to enhance transparency in countries which have adopted
FOI Laws. This is also illustrated from the experience in India where issues of
right of access, requesting procedures, appeals and promotional measures can be
addressed more effectively at the local level.
Beginning with the questions of right of
access, the campaign for the FOI in India started at the state level. The state
of Rajasthan, in Western India, was the first one to provide the right to
information. This was made possible by the vigorous and effective campaign of
the MKSS which struggled for minimum wage in the government projects. These
government projects were the main lifeline in the drought prone region.
Similarly, the campaigns
for FOI found success at the local government level first in the United Kingdom
through the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, before the adoption
of Freedom of Information Act in 2000. These local campaigns also found willing
partners in the local and regional news media, especially the newspapers. These
organizations and newspapers which participated in the adoption are now in the
forefront in implementation of the law too. For example, the Commonwealth Human Rights
Initiative, has been participating in the appeals process and making
submissions to the Central Information Commission
in India. Another example is that of the regional newspaper from Andhra
Pradesh, India, which runs a site called Mundadugu (which translates as ‘Next
Step Forward’), run by the Telugu language newspaper Eenadu (translates to
‘Today’). This site carries news stories which have emerged from use of RTI
applications, opinion pieces by experts, information of Public Information
Officers, decisions of State and Central Information Commissioners, and very
importantly practical information on how to use RTI. This is a vital resource
as Telugu is spoken by 80 million people- equivalent to the population of
Turkey- and this effort is carried by the largest newspaper from the state.
With regard to the requesting procedures,
it is necessary that provision of information is made more accessible by at
least providing information in the major language spoken in a particular place.
The above mentioned news organization provides templates for applications and
also contact information of the public information officers at the block,
district and state level. A successful experiment is a RTI Helpline provided
by the state of Bihar which provides for information requests to be made over
the phone, which are then forwarded to the concerned department. The
information is then provided by the public body to the requester. Even appeals
are transmitted to the concerned department. Similar kind of assistance is
provided on online platforms like RTI
Nation and RTI India.
A very local method of promoting
transparency is used in the rural areas of Rajasthan where the village
panchayats (village councils) started providing information on blackboards,
painted on the walls of the council buildings.
It should be finally highlighted that spreading
awareness about the RTI Act in India, and
around
the world is an unfinished task as a majority of the people are still unaware
about this empowering tool. It would need a strong and focused promotional
campaign at the local level for FOI to become an everyday fact of life.
