Yuva_RTI_Report

R IGH
Tto Food
to Water &
to Housing
Case Studies on
Exploring the scope of
Right to Information (RTI)
In Promoting
Good Governance
Through
Collective Social Actions:
RTI
YOUTH FOR UNITY & VOLUNTARY ACTION

RTI
Social ActionsSocial Actions
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. Background
2.1 Good Governance,its attributes and Social
Action
2.2 Examining the efficacy of RTI in yielding
good governance and it's attributes through
collective social actions
3. RTI and Right to Water
3.1 Demanding transparency in the water
supply reforms launched by Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM)
4. RTI and Right to Food
4.1 Ensuring access to food entitlements to the
deprived in Sangli
5. RTI and Right to Housing
5.1 Exposing corruption in public housing
schemes in Mumbai
6. Analysis
6.1 Examining the role of RTI in promoting
good governance through collective social
actions initiated by three action groups
6.2 Challenges faced in the implementation
of RTI
7. Conclusion and Recommendations
8. References

Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to
Sitaram Shelar, Simprit Singh and Shaheen
Sheikh ,the representatives of Youth for Unity
and Voluntary Action (YUVA), Ghar Bachao
Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGBA) and Rationing
Kruti Samiti (RKS) respectively. We would
also like to extend our gratitude to
academicians from Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (TISS) -Amita Bhide, Dr. Denzil
Saldanha, Mahesh Kamble, Partho Mandel,
Molishrivyas,Leena Joshi,C.Sen Gupta and Dr
Shajahan for their insightful guidance and
support. Thanks are also due to Suchi
Pande(NCPRI), Professor Jalindar Adsule (
Nirmala Niketan), Reetika Khera (Indian
Statistical Institute) and Sukla Sen (EKTA).
A special thanks to Phoebe Simon,former Co-
ordinator, Urban Governance Programme,
YUVA for her efficient facilitation.
RTI
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RTI
Abbreviations
APL
BMC - Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
BPL - Below Poverty Line
EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment
FDO - Food Distribution Officer
GBGBA - Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan
GR - Government Resolution
HIV - Human Immuno Virus
IMF - International Monetary Fund
MCGM - Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
MHADA - Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority
MKSS - Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan
MNC - Multinational Company
PDS - Public Distribution System
PPIAF - Public Private Infrastructure Advisory facility
RKS - Rationing Kruti Samithi
RTI - Right to Information / Right to Information Act 2005
SRA - Slum Rehabilitation Authority
SRS - Slum Rehabilitation Scheme
TOR - Terms of Reference
TPDS - Targeted Public Distribution System
WDIP - Water Distribution Improvement Project
WTO - World Trade Organization
YUVA - Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action
- Above Poverty Line
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1. Introduction
The Right to Information Act which came into effect on
12 October 2005 is one of the most significant and
empowering legislations enacted by the Parliament of
India. By ``mandating a legal institutional framework for
setting out the practical regime of right to information for
every citizen to secure access to information under
control of public authorities'', it transforms the role of
ordinary citizens from mere spectators to active
participants in governance. Moreover, it promotes
complete transparency in the functioning of the state and
holds the government accountable to the governed. In a
country like India where effective functioning of
democracy is constantly under the threat of corruption
and arbitrary decision making in the governance system,
it is imperative to have mechanisms that enforce
accountability and transparency. With traditional
mechanisms of accountability existing within the
institution of elected representatives turning out to be
increasingly ineffective and tainted with corruption,new
means of `societal accountability' are being adopted by
social movements to build public opinion and put
pressure on elected governments to respond to the
citizen's demands . Though non electoral , through
constant monitoring of the functioning of the
government this `new means of `societal accountability'
is capable of exposing the wrong doings of the
government through massive public participation
thereby activating the accountability agencies( Suchi
Pande,2008). RTI can be perceived as an offshoot of this
new genre of societal accountability'. The RTI
movement pioneered by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
1
Sangathan (MKSS) itself was an outcome of constant
demands for accountability in public service delivery in
Bhim Tehsil, Rajasthan.
1
(MKSS), a grass root level organization
in Rajasthan, was instrumental in
initiating the right to information
movement in India by urging the people
of Bhim Tehsil –a backward region in
the state- to assert their right to
information by asking for copies of
bills and vouchers of various
development projects initiated in the
region with an intent to expose and
question the misappropriation of funds
involvedintheseprojects
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan
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RTI
2. Background
The RTI movement which was deeply rooted in the
concerns of survival and justice of rural poor began as a
powerful grass root level struggle to combat corruption
in famine relief works. Based on the premise that poor
should not await for the goodwill of an honest official to
guard themselves from the menace of corruption and
instead they should be empowered to fight it on their
own,the movement introduced a new methodological
approach-Jansunwais to demand governance
accountability. Emphasizing the fact that citizens cannot
exercise their rights and responsibilities without
adequate information, Jansunwais uphold the
fundamental right of people to information about all the
acts and decisions of the state. It allows the public to
verify the government documents in a public meeting
which will be attended by the representatives of the
state. The information obtained is read aloud and the
local people are invited to give testimonies which
highlight discrepancies between official records and
their own experiences as labourers/ beneficiaries of
public work projects/ government schemes. In a series
of Jansunwais conducted by MKSS, copies of all the
public works including details of muster rolls which lists
the attendance of the workers,the wages due paid and
bills and vouchers which relate to purchase and
transportation of materials were made available to
people for a people's audit. Ordinary citizens actively
participated in these public hearings bringing up solid
evidences of corruption which included false entry of
muster rolls,diversion of funds etc . Such active public
scrutiny was unfeasible till then as the public were
unable to bring up evidences against the corrupt
authorities due to lack of access to information. Thus
Jansunwais could not only expose the rampant
corruption prevalent in the public works but could also
empower the public to hold the government
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RTI
accountable,demanding action against the discrepancies
and recovery of diverted development expenditures. It
also threw light on the linkage between role of
information and organized protests,both of which can be
used as effective weapons in the battle for governance
accountability. The RTI movement which later fanned
out to other parts of the country resulted in widespread
campaigning by various civil society organizations
giving rise to mass mobilization and collective action
that pressurized the state to enforce the Act
Against this backdrop the study attempts to understand
the `Art of using RTI' and its scope in initiating collective
social actions to promote good governance through
effectuating its three primary facets- Transparency,
Accountability and People's Participation. By
conducting an in-depth study of social actions initiated
by three action groups with regards to right to water,right
to food and right to housing,the study attempts to address
three questions.
1) When and why RTI has been used by the activists?
2) How did they go about in using RTI as a tool to
address various issues?
3) What did they benefit while using RTI as a tool and
what were the challenges they faced?
2.1 Good Governance, its attributes and Social Action
RTI has considerable scope in promoting good
governance through enhancing accountability,
transparency and people's participation in the
governance process. Moreover it has the capacity to
overhaul the governance process through inciting social
actions. Prior to analyzing good governance, its
attributes-accountability, transparency, people's
participation and social actions in the context of RTI,let
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RTI
us look at each of these aspects conceptually at the
microlevel and the interlinkages they share. As we are
primarily focusing on the means by which good
governance can be yielded, it is more apt to look at
governance in terms of it's outcomes and the nature of
relationship shared between power holders and rest of
the society.
Governance can be seen as the exercise of economic,
political and administrative authority to manage a
country's affairs at all levels. It comprises the
mechanisms, processes and institutions through which
citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise
their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate
their differences. Good governance is, among other
things, participatory, transparent and accountable. It is
also effective and equitable. And it promotes the rule of
law. Good governance ensures that political,social and
economic priorities are based on broad consensus in
society and that the voices of the poorest and the most
vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the
allocation of development resources (Governance for
Sustainable Human Development, UNDP Policy
Document). Governance improves when the process of
decision making and implementation of decisions
enable the key actors,i.e.,the Government,Civil Society
and Market, to discharge their respective roles
effectively. Good governance is the equivalent of
purposive,development oriented,citizen friendly,citizen
caring,participatory and responsive public management
committed to improvement in quality of life of the
people. It entails equity in access to public services,
participation of all stake holders in the service delivery
process as well as their full access to information (Right
to Information Act 2005- A Guide for Civil Society
Organizations). In short to promote good governance,
the state must be accountable to the public,there must
be transparency in it's functioning and the state must
also ensure public participation in governance process.
Schedler, Andreas (1999) defines accountability as the
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RTI
two dimensional concept of ` answerability '(public
officials are answerable for or must explain their actions)
and enforceability (disciplinary steps in cases of manifest
2
misconduct in office) . Although transparency and
accountability are inextricably linked, one does not
necessarily yield another. While transparency is more
about `making procedures clear and removing
discretionary control', accountability mechanisms hold
the state responsible for its actions. But increased
transparency can generate higher levels of
accountability. When the public is equipped enough to
draw comparisons between the mode of functioning
which is expected to be adhered by the state and its
existent functioning, probabilities for increased public
scrutiny are higher which can in turn engender higher
levels of accountability and public participation in
governance
Transparency,accountability and people's participation
are undoubtedly relative to each other and the presence
of any one aspect can stimulate the other. Moreover a
combined action of the three factors can trigger a new
methodological approach - Social Actions –- to promote
good governance through particularly addressing the
issues of social justice and equity in distribution of
resources. With resources increasingly being conceived
in the light of inclusiveness, there has been constant
dissatisfaction about the application of curative and
rehabilitative measures to address the issues of unjust
distribution. This disregard for curative and rehabilitative
measures has given rise to an alternate approach- Social
Actions- through which civil society organizations
pressurize the state for policy reform and just distribution
of resources after analyzing the real causes of unjust
distribution through macro processes of social
transformation. Gabriel Britto defines social actions as a
2
restraining State: Power and Accountability in New Democracies, London:
LyneRienner
Schedler, Andreas (1999), “Conceptualizing Accountability”, The Self-
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RTI
conflictual process of varying intensity , initiated and
conducted by the masses or by a group of elites with or
without the participation of the masses in action,against
the structures or institutions or policies or programmes
or procedures of the government and/or relevant
agencies/or power groups,to eradicate/control any mass
socio-economic political problem with a view to
bringing betterment to any section of the under-
privileged at a level larger than that of a sociologically
defined community. In India,social actions have often
turned out to be the resultants of reactions against unjust
distribution of resources. They are often used as an
efficient means to seek just distribution and facilitate
access to opportunity to the deprived through
mobilization,organization,networking and advocacy.
( Denzil Saldanha,2008).
Now that we have analysed good governance, its
attributes and Social actions conceptually at an
independent level , what is to be examined is the
efficacy of RTI in yielding good governance through
triggering collective social actions by means of
promoting the vital parameters of good governance-
transparency,accountability and people's participation-
in governance process.
2.2 Examining the efficacy of RTI in yielding good
governance and its attributes through collective social
actions
RTI mandates proactive and suo-moto disclosure of
maximum information regarding government rules,
regulations and decisions in such a way that public
have minimum resort to the Act to obtain information.
Public authorities are expected to duly place
information in the public domain through maintaining
the records in a` duly catalogued and indexed manner',
publication of relevant documents and through other
means of communication including internet. To
facilitate access to information,a citizen has the right to
(i) inspection of work,documents,records (ii) taking notes,
extracts or certified copies of the documents or records
(iii) taking certified sample of material (iv) obtaining
information in electronic form if available. Thus the
right which RTI confers to every citizen to access the
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RTI
information held under public control plays a crucial
role in promoting good governance for it has created
greater transparency in the functioning of the public
bodies and helps every citizen to know and question the
actions of the ruling class thereby letting the citizens
meaningfully take part in the governance process. If the
information sought is not provided within a stipulated
period of 30 days or if the information furnished are
misleading/incorrect, a requester is free to file a
complaint or appeal before the Information Commission
for necessary directions to the parties as per the
provisions of the Act. Moreover, the Information
Commission has the mandate to impose penalty/ take
disciplinary action against erring information providers.
Transparency that RTI ensures has often resulted in
higher levels of accountability in the governance
process.The information accessed through RTI can be
used to hold the government accountable or to seek
explanation on to why decisions have been taken, by
whom and with what consequences or outcomes.
Moreover, Section 4(1) d of the Act necessitates every
public authority to “provide reasons for it's
administrative or quasi judicial decisions to affected
persons”. In many cases the Information Commission has
ordered for details of decision making process which
include file notings,cabinet papers,lists of beneficiaries of
government's subsidized schemes such as food grains
supplied through ration shops, water and electricity,
domestic gas,educational and health facilities,shelter for
poor,muster rolls under employment guarantee schemes,
etc ( Amit Sinha, 2010). Thus RTI has empowered the
beneficiaries to question the authority and scrutinize
government action. Until the implementation of the RTI
it was not possible for common man to seek such details
of the decision making process. Disclosure of such vital
information can not only check the corruption practices
in delivery of services and hold the government
accountable to their actions but can also ensure the
reach of entitlements to the poor. Thus higher levels of
transparency and accountability will involuntarily result
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RTI
in people's participation in the governance process. By
holding Jansunwais / public hearings, the information
obtained from the government documents through RTI
can be widely disseminated to the public,which can be
analyzed and verified by them in a collective mode.
While Jansunwais provide a platform for the state to
ensure transparency in its functioning, it offers the
masses a platform to hold the state accountable and also
an opportunity to organize and fight for a common
cause. Jansunwais provide room for collective
3
action through facilitating social audits .
can be widely used as a
tool to promote good governance not only by exposing
corruption and nepotism in the bureaucracy but also by
addressing the immediate concerns of the poor.
Thus
To sum it up,
the transparency and accountability mechanisms in RTI
have enormous scope to enable people's participation
in the governance process by means of collective
action. And these mechanisms
Social audit is an independent and participatory evaluation of performance
ofapublicagencyor aprogramme or scheme
3
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RTI
3. RTI and Right to Water
3.1 Demanding transparency in the water supply reforms
launched by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
(MCGM)
Increasing interference in hydrological cycle and life
styles based on wasteful consumption of water has led to
an acute water crisis across the world. On the pretext of
resolving this crisis,Water MNCs,now spread over 120
countries across the globe (Arun Kumar Singh, 2006),
have come up with a slew of solutions when the actual
intention is to take advantage of this scenario to mint
money and seize the water supply systems from the
public sector. Circumstances turned favorable for the
MNCs with the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
coming into existence in 1995 and developing countries
accepting its mainspring – General Agreements on Trade
in Services (GATS) – there by opening the water sector for
private firms. Obligation under GATS makes it
compulsory for member countries to open up their
public and basic services to private sector. Members
who decide to violate their commitment will be brought
under WTO's dispute settlement mechanism and could
face trade sanctions by WTO members. Consequently,
WTO,in close co-operation with its allies Public Private
Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) and World Bank
began privatizing public services across the world
including water under the garb of public-private
partnerships.
In India, liberalization augmented avenues for private
participation in the water sector. Efforts to commodify
water strengthened in the country in late 1990s under
pressure from World Bank and International Monetary
Fund (IMF).With the adoption of National Water Policy
on April 1,2002 which emphasized the role of private
sector in water management, water privatisation was
roped in many states across the country including
11

Maharashtra. The policy was based on the assumption
that privatization is the only solution to India's water
crisis. It upheld commercialization and competition
through privatization and called for a demand-
responsive approach and a decentralized service
delivery. A demand-responsive system alters the role of
the state from a service provider to a mere facilitator as
water supply is not treated as a responsibility of the state
but considered as a commodity available to those who
pay for it. This form of privatization was sure to yield
adverse results including high water tariff, denial of
access to the poor,diverting water from poor to lucrative
customers for higher prices,irregular supply hours etc.
The reverberations of this drastic shift in policy
approach impinged on Mumbai as well. In February
2001, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
(MCGM) decided to pilot a performance-based
management contract through private sector
participation in K-East Ward ,a highly industrialized and
most profitable ward of the city, – which has 58% of its
population living in slums. The reason cited to
recommend privatization was the political constraints
confronted by MCGM in hiking water tariffs (Afsar Jafri,
2007). To actualize private sector participation (PSP),
MCGM sought assistance from PPIAF with the help of
Ministry for Urban Development. In Mid 2004, PPIAF
approved a grant of $ 692,500 with a view to assist
government in ``procuring consultants with international
experience'' who could help the state in identifying
private sector operators in water supply services. While
World Bank was appointed as the executing agency for
the grant,Castalia,– a French firm was hired as the private
consultant. Through a study titled “K-East Water
Distribution Improvement Project (WDIP) study”,
Castalia was expected to design and develop a model
so as to curb water leakage, pilferage and
contamination and ensure an efficient 24/7 water
supply.
However, the entire deal was flawed. Private sector
RTI
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being the sole implementing agency, public sector
assumed no significance in this so called `public-private
partnership'. Grant allotted by PPIAF was handled by
World Bank. Moreover MCGM had no role in selecting
the consultants. The contract and terms of reference
were signed between Castalia and World Bank. Also,
Castalia and World Bank were entrusted with the
responsibility to select the private water company. In
short MCGM was left with no policy space. Although
MCGM hardly appeared anywhere in the scene,it kept
on denying it's insignificance as a public partner and
its intention to privatize water. In the first Stake holder
th
Consultation held on 15 May 2006 MCGM asserted that
it will play a vital role in the implementation of the
project. However it was not willing to share any
information with regards to contract and terms of
reference (TOR). This denial of information posed a huge
challenge for civil society to question the lack of
transparency involved in the various stages of the
project. Nevertheless, civil society groups adopted two
major strategies to combat the hostility of the state and
it's private partner. One was filing a spate of RTIs to
procure the necessary documents and other was forming
two major collectives to disseminate information
obtained through RTIs and to lobby against water
4
privatization. Under the initiative of YUVA, two
collectives were formed – - Mumbai Pani and Pani Hakka
Abhiyan. While Mumbai Pani was mainly aimed at
bringing together Community Based Organisations
(CBOs), People's movements, Non Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) and Social activists across the city,
Panni Hakka Abhiyan -– a collective formed in K-East
ward, focused on creating awareness among people
about the issue with an intend to mobilize them for the
struggle against privatisation. RTIs were filed by the
members of Mumbai Pani in order to acquire TOR and
the contract. Though with much difficulty the documents
RTI
4
byUrban poor
YUVA is a Mumbai based Human Rights NGO which deals with issues faced
13

were obtained. The TOR clearly stated that`` MCGM
envisages to award a “`` Water Distribution Contract'' to
a professional operator''. Moreover the contract between
Castalia and World Bank stated that `` For a period of
two years after the expiration of this contract, the
Consultants shall not engage, and shall cause its
Personnel as well as its Sub-consultants and their
Personnel not to engage, in the activity of a purchaser
(directly/indirectly) of the assets on which they advised
the bank and for the Recipient under this Contract,,nor
shall they engage in the activity of an adviser (directly or
indirectly) of potential purchasers of such assets''. This
indicated that even the sales of the asset are not ruled
out (Afsar Jafri,2007). Such outright privatization would
only lead to escalation of water tariffs which will further
marginalize the poor from accessing this indispensable
service.
These aspects of the contract and the TOR which
testified the excessive role played by the private partner
were questioned by the Civil Society at the second Stake
holder Consultation held in June 2007. In this
consultation Castalia presented the key findings of the
WDIP study. However it was not willing to share the
report. Another RTI was filed to obtain Castalia's study.
The Study which was conducted using inappropriate
methods presented an inflated water leakage figure and
hence recommended privatization through installation of
water meters. It should be noted that Castalia could n’’’’’’’’ot
pinpoint a single case of illegal consumption in K-east
ward. All these discrepancies in the study as well as
TOR and contract were pointed out in the third Stake
holder Consultation held in November 2007 and MCGM
was forced to withdraw it’’s water privatization project in
K-east.
RTI
14

4.RTI and Right to Food
4.1 Ensuring access to food entitlements to the deprived
in Sangli
In India food security to the poor is ensured by Public
Distribution System (PDS) which distributes food grains
and other basic commodities at subsidized prices
through fair price shops (FPS). Until 1997, PDS was a
general entitlement scheme for all consumers without
any specific target. However,identifying that PDS failed
to serve the population below poverty line (BPL),it was
replaced by Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)
in 1997 by issuing distinctive ration cards to families
below poverty line and providing food grains to them at
specially subsidized prices. The introduction of TPDS,
however, seems to have yielded a counterproductive
effect resulting in the denial of food entitlements to a
large number of deserving beneficiaries. One of the
major drawbacks of TPDS was the target oriented
selection of the beneficiaries. State government were
to identify the beneficiaries of the scheme in such a way
that their numbers would not cross the target set by
Union government. A target of 65.34 lakhs was set for
Maharashtra and government officers justify the
exclusion of genuine applicants by saying that the target
is completed. Since the number of beneficiaries is
greater than the prescribed target, many eligible
beneficiaries were deprived of the benefits of the
scheme.
As in other parts of Maharashtra,the introduction of TPDS
led to denial of food entitlements to a large section of
people in Sangli. Many of the intended beneficiaries
have been denied the ration cards. Moreover rampant
corruption has paralyzed the system. There is high
incidence of mishandling of food grains. Adulteration of
grains,manipulation in measurements,discrimination in
RTI
15

distribution of grains and siphoning of the grains are
some of the key issues faced by the beneficiaries here.
The precarious nexus between the implementing
agencies,fair price shop owners and food giants has
eventuated in the formation of a food grain mafia in
the district which siphon off grains either to sell in the
black market or to use in manufacturing of flour in
flour mills. Fair price shop owners have been using
various tactful strategies to support this smuggling
racket. Grinded stones have been added to grains in the
guise of “refuse” to manipulate the measurement. Also
measurements in the weighing machines have been
tampered with as grains often weigh less when weighed
in a different machine outside the ration shop. Some
BPL beneficiaries have been treated inferior to Above
Poverty Line (APL) card holders and grains supplied to
them is of poor quality compared to what have been
supplied to APL card holders. Another issue concerning
the beneficiaries is the lack of awareness. Many of them
are unaware of the quantity of the food grains they are
entitled to receive through PDS. This lack of awareness
makes them vulnerable to exploitation.
With an intent to address these issues,Rationing Kruti
5
Samiti (RKS) has used RTI extensively .It has used RTI
as an effective tool to question as well as expose the
discrepancies in PDS. With the help of RTI, the
organization has initiated remarkable social actions
among two marginalized sections of the society-
a) Phase Pardhis, a denotified tribe in Maharashtra b)
People living with HIV - in order to attain their PDS
entitlements.
RTI
5
issues pertainingtorighttofood
Rationing Kruti Samiti is a Maharashtra based collective which deals with
16

Phasse Pardhis
Phasse Pardhis, a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, are
branded as criminals by birth under the Criminal Tribes
Act 1871,enacted by the British Government. In spite of
the repeal of the Act in 1952, they are still treated as
criminals and are subjected to harassment and
persecution at the hands of the police and the state
machineries. In Sangli,majority of Phasse Pardhis live in
socially excluded and marginalised conditions and still
continue to retain their traditional means of livelihood - –
robbery. Their unique cultural attributes make their
integration into mainstream society a formidable task.
Low literacy rates, unemployment, alcoholism and
criminal tendencies are some of the pressing issues
haunting this community.
Phasse Pardhis have been deprived of PDS entitlements
ever since its implementation in Sangli. Until January
2010,not even a single member of the community was a
ration card holder. Though they approached the
concerned authorities many a time,their grievances fell
on deaf ears. A struggle was also launched under the
leadership of Madhukarbai Khadi, a local politician,
which turned out to be a futile attempt. It was during this
time, some of the members of the community
approached RKS. RKS filed an RTI asking for the status of
6
the implementation of the GR (Government Resolution)
on TPDS which mandates that Phase Pardhis should be
7
given priority while issuing BPL cards . They also
launched a struggle questioning the authorities on the
grounds on which they were denied ration card.
Meanwhile a state sponsored survey was on the wheels
to identify the BPL families. As part of this,social activists
RTI
7
BPL ration card on a temporary basis to all Bidi workers and Pardhi and
Kolhaticommunitymembers”.
th
AGR dated 9 September 2008 says -``The Government has decided to issue a
6
government.
A Government Resolution (GR) is an important order or decision of the
17

of RKS along with some of the community
representatives assisted the survey team to help the state
to identify the BPL beneficiaries,particularly the Pardhi
beneficiaries. In the survey around 68 Phasse Pardhi
families have been identified, all of whom were later
issued the ration cards.
People living with HIV
HIV patients often turn out to be the mute victims of
marginalization,mistreatment and exclusion at the hands
of PDS officials and the state of affairs in Sangli is no
better. Rama (name has been changed to maintain the
confidentiality of the the individual's identity), an HIV
infected widow and mother of two was humiliated and
mistreated by the Food Distribution Officer (FDO) when
she approached him with an application to issue her
ration card . The officer not only abused her verbally
but also tore down her application. Rama who was
then unemployed had no means to feed her children
With no PDS assistance,she found it arduous to make
the two ends meet. The matter was brought to the notice
of Ami Amchi Samsthan ,an organization which works
for the emancipation of people living with HIV. The
organization referred her to RKS which filed an RTI to
access the GR which mandates that all those who come
under chronically-ill category are entitled to get BPL
ration cards. The RTI application also questioned the
status of its implementation. GR accessed with the help
of RTI, served as a basis for Rama to question the
grounds on which she was denied the ration card. As
in the case of Rama ,PDS officials had declined the
applications of more than hundred HIV affected
persons .With the help of Ami Amchi Samsthan and RKS,
Rama along with the 15O affected launched an
indefinite hunger strike at FDO's office seeking an
explanation for the denial of ration cards . However the
strike was called off the very day it started,when the
concerned authorities assured them that they will
undertake immediate action. Within a day's time
Rama's ration card was issued ,while for the rest of
15O affected strikers ,the card was issued after 15 days.
RTI
18

5.RTI and Right to Housing
5.1 Exposing corruption in public housing schemes in
Mumbai
Although right to adequate housing is widely recognized
as a basic human right, a large segment of India's
population still remain homeless. In Mumbai, out of
the total population of 11 million,55% are slum dwellers
who occupy only 6% of the total land (GBGBA,2008).
There are many factors which have accounted for the
growth of slums in the city. With the unprecedented
boom in the cotton industry,in 1888,Mumbai emerged
as the second largest commercial centre in India . The
economic opportunities offered by the city drew
migrants from across the country to the city thereby
increasing the city's population. Mumbai's population
has been increasing rapidly since early 1900s. Although
city's population was less than a million in the
beginning of 1900s, it rose to around 1.36 million by
1930s pushing the city into a state of acute housing
crisis. The transformation of seven marshy islands into a
commercial centre also led to the displacement of Kolis,
the native fisher folks of the land who were forced to
live in shabby living spaces. By late 1930s slums started
emerging in Mumbai. During independence,around 5%
of city's population were living in slums. Growth of
slum population reached its peak during 1970s when
the city witnessed an enormous migrant influx from the
drought hit Deccan plateau. Limited supply of land
combined with sluggish housing activity further
augmented the growth of slums. Slum population of the
city amount to 54.5 % of total population,as per Census
data,2001.
Slum dwellers play a vital role in maintaining city's
economic sustainability. Majority of slum dwellers work
in the informal sector. Mumbai survives on a dual
RTI
19

economy fostered by both informal and formal sector
and economic contribution made by the informal sector
is substantial. It should be noted that a large segment of
such informal economic activities are carried out in
slums making slums an integral component of city's
economic advancement. However, despite the vital
contributions made by slum dwellers,they are offered no
social or economic security. Deprived of even the basic
amenities,they live and work in despicable conditions.
Inadequate water supply,poor sanitation,lack of sewage
and solid waste disposal make the slum dwellers
vulnerable to serious health hazards. Moreover, there
existence has time and again been questioned and
threatened.
Slum dwellers are deemed as ``encroachers'' of public
property. As attempts to transform Mumbai into a
global city strengthened after the advent of
liberalization, there have been deliberate moves to
strengthen and publicize the ``encroacher viewpoint''
by the real estate mafia eying the lands on which the
slums exist . The state has also played a significant role
in this anti- slum lobbying. In late 2004,Government of
Maharashtra,embarked on a massive demolition drive
aimed at making Mumbai a world class city devoid of
slums and shanty towns in response to a call by the
8
Prime Minister to “Shanghaise'' the city. Between
December 2004 and March 2005, around 90,000
shanties were pulled down in violation of the poll
promises,international covenants to which the country is
9
signatory to and Slum Areas Act 2001 which ensures
protection to all slums built prior to 1995. As part of this
RTI
8
theChinesecity, Shanghai
Aterm coined to describe the redevelopment plans for Mumbai along lines of
9
were on the electoral rolls by January 1, 1995 were protected to the extent that
theirhouses couldnotbedemolishedwithoutrehabilitation.
TheAct stipulates that all slum dwellers who could establish that their names
20

modernization drive an ambitious four-year $ 8 billion
proposal for modernizing Mumbai was also put forward
by Maharashtra's Chief Minister which included building
of new roads,a sub way system and a large scale public
housing project . In order to reap the fruits of this
proposal,land was the most vital requisite. As majority of
the city's land was concentrated in few hands – mainly
corporate bodies and political elites, regaining it from
them was a formidable task. Hence it was easier to turn
to the most vulnerable and voiceless - the slum dwellers.
The demolitions of slums were carried out claiming that
they are in violation of reservations delineated in the
10
city's Development Plan .
The `encroacher' approach towards slum dwellers took
its various forms in the state policies as well. Amita
Bhide (2009) categorizes these policies into three
chronological phases – (1) The phase of negation - a
period during early 1950's when the Slum Clearance
Programme was introduced which vests the state with
essential powers to acquire and redevelop the slum
areas (2) The phase of tolerance –- a period extending
from early 1970s to 1980s where there was a shift in the
policy approach from redevelopment and rehabilitation
to environment improvement. In 1971, central
government introduced Slum Improvement Programme
to improve the living environment in slums through
provision of tap water,street lights,paving,drainage and
sanitation lines, community paths and toilets. (3) The
phase of acceptance - the phase which began in 1980s
accepted slum settlements as housing options for the
poor. During this period a spate of programs which
offered tenure and physical security and also assistance
and incentives to improve housing of the slum dwellers
was initiated. Urban Basic Services Programme initiated
in 1985 tried to institutionalize community participation
focusing on women's development. The National Slum
RTI
10
Developmentplan
Land use in Mumbai is determined by the reservations delineated in the
21

Development Programme ensured provision of basic
services along with creation of community structure.
“”’” A review of policy would thus give us the
impression of evolution from negation to acceptance .
However in reality slum dwellers were never accepted
neither by the state nor by the society. With their
invisible existence even in the city's development plan,
slum dwellers continue to be vulnerable to exploitation
and eviction.
Against this backdrop, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao
11
Andolan (GBGBA) in Mumbai has been actively
asserting the right to housing and life with dignity for
thousands of slum-dwellers in the city. In all it's
uprisings GBGBA has been using Right to Information
Act as an effective strategy to challenge the inequity
and question the violations by the state as well as the
developers with regards to housing. Through vigorously
exposing the rampant corruption in the Slum
Rehabilitation Authority (SRA),GBGBA mobilizes slum-
dwellers to demand and safeguard their right to housing.
It has also exposed the favoritism and impunity of the
state towards the unscrupulous private developers by
obtaining documents under RTI which evidences the
12
handing over of reserved land to private builders by
13
the government. Following are the two instances in
which GBGBA has been able to expose housing right
violations:
“
”
RTI
11
massive demolition of slums in Mumbai in 2005. The demolition drive was
initiated by the state in it's efforts to transform Mumbai into a world class city.
GBGBA continues to work for the various issues confronted by the urban
poor.
GBGBA is a social movement which was originated as a resistance to the
12
like construction of public gardens, schools etc which is delineated in the
developmentplan
Land which is reserved for development projects initiated by government
13
last two years, government of Maharashtra changed/deleted the reservations
of 60 plots and handed over most of them to private builders to build high rise
complexes
GBGBA has also obtained documents under RTI which shows that in the
22

RTI
Tulsiwadi
Redevelopment of Tulsiwadi – situated in Tardeo opposite
Mahalaxmi race course in an area of 77913 sq.m – under
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
14
(JNNURM) was an ambitious project of
Municipal Corporation (BMC). However majority of the
residents of Tulsiwadi opposed the project citing that it is
mostly in favour of developers. The 400 crore worth
property has 2700 slum households and 15 civic
buildings,which houses 724 residents,who are mainly
the Mumbai Municipal Corporation's conservancy staff.
The 664 crore project which embraced a clustered
15
development approach was expected to fetch the
builders an estimated profit of Rs 13,000 crores and was
undertaken by DLF,Shapoorji Palanji and Akruti Nirman
under the consortium named Mangal Shrushti Graha
Nirmiti Pvt Ltd . Brushing aside the stiff opposition from
residents and slum dwellers the developers embarked on
a demolition drive in November 2006. It should be
noted that citing the dilapidated state of the civic
buildings BMC had spent around Rs. 27 lakhs on it few
months prior to the initiation of the demolition drive.
The project was executed with out getting the statutory,
environmental clearance under the Environmental
th
Impact Assessment (EIA) notification of 28 January
16
1994 .
Brihanmumbai
14
Government of India's flagship urban development programme aimed at a
“reforms driven, fast track, planned development of identified cities with focus
on efficiency in urban infrastructure/service delivery mechanism, community
participation and accountability of urban local bodies and parastatals
towards citizens”
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) –
15
structures, governmentbuildingsandslums — forredevelopment
Cluster development means clubbing of all kinds of buildings — heritage
16
any expansion or modernization project from the government through a
process ofpublicconsultation.
EIA Notification, 28 January 1994 mandates an environmental clearance of
23

RTI
The public hearing mandated by EIA has not been
conducted. Environmental Impact Assessment report has
also not been prepared by the concerned authorities.
The project has also not taken clearance from the
Railway Authorities which was required as per the
Development Control regulations. Moreover the BMC
did not issue open tenders for the project conferring a
profit of around Rs 12,500 crores to the builder. Also,
prior to the initiation of the work,the builder has not
taken permission from various civic departments
including storm water drain department, sewerage
projects and hydraulic department. In order to obtain
one third consent to initiate the work,the builder also
deceived the Municipal Corporation's conservancy staff,
offering them permanent residence through a fraud pact.
Identifying these discrepancies GBGBA filed RTIs in
various concerned departments and from the
information obtained proved that project was
undertaken violating the norms mandated in urban
renewal and could thereby obtain a statutory 'stop work
order'.
Golibar
Golibar,a slum spread across around 140 acres is house
to more than 1 lakh people who have been living there
and carrying out economic activities since decades. It is
Mumbai's largest slum after Dharavi. As the area lies in
the near vicinity of the Airport and on the Express
Highway the real estate mafia has always been eyeing
on the land on which the slums are located. Since last 3
years – a joint venture of Unitech & Rohan Builders in
the name of Shivalikh Ventures in which Lehman
Brothers had invested $700 million has undertaken
development work in Golibar under Slum Rehabilitation
Scheme (SRS). The Project would lead to eviction and
homelessness of about 50 % of the residents as only
those residents will be rehabilitated who have been
residing there prior to the date of 1.1.1995 and later
24

ones will be entitled for no rehabilitation or
compensation.
With no guidelines issued, the redevelopment project
proposed under Maharashtra State Housing Policy's
Township Scheme launched in the year 2006 is lopsided
and is found to be in great favor of developers. In order
to safeguard the vested interests of the developers,details
of the project were kept under wraps from the local
residents and the project was secretly pushed ahead with
connivance of politicians-bureaucrats- officials and few
of the slum dwellers who were Committee members of
the Co-operative Housing Societies.
The slum dwellers had entered into an agreement with
the Developers for the construction of 7 storied building.
However, the developers later on manipulated the
agreements making the agreed height as 14 stories.
Moreover the developers tried to obtain the consent from
slum dwellers by convincing them of insitu
17
rehabilitation, while clandestine moves have been made
to start the construction 800 meters away from the main
road. Moreover out of the 140 acres of land ,12 acres
were owned by the Indian Airforce and the developers
had started construction in the area without getting a No
Objection Certificate (NOC) from the concerned
authorities. Also, without considering the fact that
18
opposition is more than 50%,MHADA started serving
eviction notices to the slum dwellers. GBGBA identified
all these discrepancies and filed RTIs under various
departments and the information obtained has been used
to question these violations.
RTI
17
Under insiturehabilitation,slums arerehabilitatedon thesame site
18
Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority
25

6. Analysis
6.1 Examining the role of RTI in promoting good
governance through collective social actions
initiated by three action groups
YUVA, RKS and GBGBA have used RTI as an
effective strategy to promote good governance.
The experience of these action groups testifies the
direct relationship between right to information,
good governance and the role of public
participation in government. Through wide spread
dissemination of information obtained through RTIs,
these action groups could mobilize the masses to
initiate collective social actions in order to seek
accountability and transparency in governance.
To aid the process of good governance,all the three
action groups have used citizenship development
as an effective mode. They have used the
information obtained through RTIs as a key means
to empower the citizens to organize and initiate
collective social actions. For instance, the
collective,Pani Hakka Abhiyan was an outcome of
the mass mobilization which was made possible
through widespread dissemination of information
obtained through RTIs and the mass awareness
generation initiatives undertook on covert water
privatization plans. In fact the unveiling of blatant
non-transparency involved in seemingly
transparent “stakeholder consultations” by Mumbai
Pani and Pani Hakka Ahbyan would not have been
possible without the RTI Act. Pani Hakka Abhiyan
not only played a vital role in putting pressure on
the state to withdraw from its efforts to privatize
water but also empowered the citizens of K-East
ward to use RTI to attain their further entitlements.
In fact,encouraged by this victory,residents of the
RTI
26

K-east ward now use RTI extensively to resolve other
civic issues with regard to sewage management,
infrastructure development,etc. .
Meanwhile,RKS and GBGBA have focused more on the
empowerment of the most marginalized segments of the
society. The fact that RKS could initiate social actions
among Phasse Pardhis –- one of the most unorganized
and deprived communities in Maharashtra – using RTI is
remarkable. The interventions of RKS with regards to
denial of PDS entitlements to Phasse Pardhis as well as
people living with HIV would not have been a success in
the absence of accessibility of information and the
collective action which ensued. The latent factor which
made Pardhis and people living with HIV vulnerable to
denial of PDS entitlements was their lack of awareness
about their entitlements. However, the GRs obtained
through RTI not only informed them of these entitlements
but also equipped and empowered them for collective
action. The victory of obtaining ration cards after years
and even decades of denial is sweet to these two groups
who are inherently stigmatized and victimized.
By exposing the existing corruption menace in Slum
Rehabilitation Scheme (SRS), through RTI , GBGBA has
mobilized the slum dwellers to organize and fight for the
entitlements denied to them . The organization was also
successful in training and molding RTI experts from
deprived communities by setting up an RTI cell to train
the community members who could speak on behalf of
their community and seek accountability and
transparency by invoking the provisions of RTI. It should
be noted that by negotiating marginalized citizens
interests through RTI, both RKS and GBGBA could
promote equity and ensure that every section of the
society could reap the benefits of the Act. Moreover all
the three action groups were successful in holding the
concerned authorities and the parties involved
accountable for their faulty actions to a great extent.
RTI
27

Hence it is visible that basic objective of Right to
Information Act, "to empower the citizens, promote
transparency and accountability in the working of the
government and make our democracy work for the
people in real sense'', is getting fulfilled through RTI's
strategic use by these action groups. However to what
extent their collective actions could promote
transparency in the functioning of the state is
questionable. All the three action groups do not seem to
have utilized the enormous scope of social audits in
promoting both transparency and accountability in the
governance. RTI enhances the scope of social audit of
public policies and programs as it ensures every citizen
the right to know, examine, audit, review and assess
government activities to ensure that they are consistent
with principles of public interest and justice. Although
public hearings / junsunwais have been organized by
these action groups, none of them acquired complete
form of a social audit as they were mainly used as
platforms to discuss the problem and disseminate and
review the information obtained through RTIs. Moreover,
it did not provide a platform for the public to monitor
the actions of the government. These jansunwais were
marked by the absence of representatives from the state
and due to the unwillingness of the bureaucrats to
voluntarily disclose the information, public was not
given an opportunity to examine the government
documents. Another major hindrance to hold social
audit is the lack of provision in the Act to file an RTI on
behalf of an organization/ collectives. Social audits will
become more viable, if collectives, CBOs /CSOs are
given the opportunity to file RTI as collective action can
be spurred in the primary phase of filing the RTI
application which can in turn yield the massive public
participation required to hold the audit. It should be
noted that social audit is a key means to actualize the
complete transparency ensured by RTI and RTI will not
yield the desirable results without it's rightly conduct.
RTI
28

6.2 Challenges faced in the implementation of RTI
There are numerous flaws in the existing implementation
of RTI and at times acquiring information turns out to be
a formidable task. Delay in delivery of information,
denial of information,threats to withdraw the application
and attempts to mislead are highly rampant. A GBGBA
activist noted that, some time ago an applicant was
physically abused and threatened by a Public
19
Information Officer (PIO) who urged him to withdraw
his application. Though the Act has provisions to impose
penalty on such erring PIOs, unfortunately, it is never
adhered. One of the important factors which affects the
effective implementation of the Act is the lack of
awareness among PIOs and other concerned officials
about the relevant provisions of the Act. Lack of
awareness reiterates the need for the state to embark on
capacity building initiatives. Another matter of concern
is the excessive cost involved in procuring information.
The activists pointed out that they are forced to file
application on behalf of BPL card holders when
information required is massive,demanding large amount
of print material/CDs/ floppies As there is no funding
allocation from the state to meet the expenses incurred
in addressing RTI applications,the concerned department
has to take care of the expenses involved,which often
results in delay in delivery of information.
However these action groups have come up with some
strategies to counter these challenges posed by the
implementing agencies. To ensure that request for
information is not denied citing lame reasons,instead of
filing one RTI,often a slew of RTIs are filed asking for
similar information there by putting pressure on the
concerned authorities. And once the RTI application is
filed,the concerned officials are constantly reminded of
the application through follow-up strategies. At times
civil society representatives embark on a joint operation
.
RTI
19
persons seekinginformationunderRTI
A Public Information Officer (PIO) is expected to deal with requests from
29

RTI
30
and approach the authorities as a group to check the
status of the applications filed by the applicant. Another
tactic is establishing rapport with honest officials and
seeking their guidance while requesting for information
to ensure that the applicant will not be mislead by the
corrupt officials. For instance a GBGBA activist told that
while filing RTIs to obtain information on land dealings
between the state and a particular developer,he sought
the help of an official who could tell him the titles of
various documents and the numbers of the file in which
they were kept. The more specific the information,the
more difficult for the corrupt officials to mislead.
Although these action groups could hold the state
accountable combining their own strategies with RTI,it
should be noted that,its initiatives would not have been
successful if it had relied solely on the Act and its
provisions. The action groups were not only forced to
formulate it's own strategies but also had to fall back on
alternate support systems in order to combat the failures
in the implementation of the Act.

RTI
7. Conclusion and Recommendations
The RTI Act is undoubtedly an empowering tool that can
effectively promote good governance,as experienced by
YUVA, RKS and GBGBA. However the obstacles in
seeking information through the RTI Act need to be
addressed to bring to full fruition the three major
parameters that aid good governance -– transparency,
accountability and people's participation. We
recommend:
?To institute effective monitory mechanisms for
flawless implementation of RTI
ŸUndertake immediate measures to launch capacity
building initiatives among the implementing
agencies
?Launch massive awareness generation initiatives
among the masses about RTI
?Allocate budgetary assistance for efficient
information delivery
?Undertake necessary measures to ensure suo moto
disclosure of information
?Develop efficient Information Management Systems
to ease the procedures involved in information
delivery
31

RTIReferences
1. Amita Bhide ( 2009),Shifting terrains ofcommunities
and community organization: r e f l e c t i o n o n
organizing for housing rights in Mumbai;
2. Neelima Risbud (2003),Urban Slum Reports: The
case of Mumbai,India
3. Sanchayeeta Adhikari (2004)Urban planning and
politics of slum demolition in Metropolitan Mumbai
4. Economic Survey of Maharashtra (2009-2010)
5. YUVA (1999) ,Our Home is a slum : An exploration
of a community and local government collaboration
in a tenant's struggle to establish legal residency
6. GBGBA (2008 ) Who are the real encroachers in
Mumbai
7. Amita Bhide, P.K Shajahan, Swati Shinde (2003),
Utilisation of slum rehabilitation scheme
8. Yuva & Montgomery Watson Consultants, India
(2001) Final Report for Slum Sanitation undertaken
for Mumbai Sewerage Disposal Project(MSDP),
Mumbai
9. Guide on Right to Information Act 2005 (2006)
10. Right to Information Act 2005: A Guide for Civil
Society Organizations(2006)
11. Rob Jenkins and Anne Marie Goetz (1999),Accounts
and Accountability
12. Suchi Pande (2008) The Right to Information and
Societal Accountability: The Case of Delhi PDS
Campaign
32

RTI
13. Kiran Moghe (1997); Redefining the poor,Frontline
14. Miloon Kothari, Sabrina Karmali & Shivani
Chaudhry(2006) The Human Right to Adequate
Housing and Land
15. Afsar Jafri (2007) PPIAF Case Study- Mumbai India
16. Shripad Dharmadhikary (2007), Privatisation turns
murkier in K-east ward,www. Indiatogether.org
17. Amit Sinha (2010), Law Relating to Right to
Information
18. A Report on Nutritional Crisis in Maharashtra (2009
19. Arun Kumar Singh (2006)Privatization of Water
Supply
20. Ronald W Johnson , Henry P. Minis, Jr,
(1996);TowardDemocratic Decentralization:
Approaches to Promoting Good Governance
21. Denzil Saldanha (2008), Towards a
conceptualization of Social action with in Social
work
33

34
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- By. Charul and Vinay
cesjs meHeveeW keÀes peeveves keÀe nkeÀ (My Dreams, My Right to Know)

“The RTI Act gave the common man a vital tool to demand their rights
without getting beaten up on the streets''- Aruna Roy, Social Activist
RTI
Regd. Office :
YUVA CENTRE, Sector 7, Plot 23, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai - 410210 (INDIA)
Tel.: 91-22-2774 0990 / 80 Fax.: 91-22-2774 0970 Website : www. yuvaindia.org
Field. Office :
YUVA, Room No. 5 & 6, ,chool, Opp. Saraswati Vidyalaya,
Dr. Ambedkar Road, Naigoan, Dadar (E), Mumbai - 400014
Tel.: 91-22-24116393/94 E-mail : info@yuvaindia.org
New Naigon Municipal S

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