THIRUVANANTHPAURAM: Kallikkad panchayat, a village on the outskirts of the state capital, has ref-used to entertain an RTI request to witness a PWD work in the panchayat. In a terse reply filed by the Kallikkad panchayat secretary, it is stated that the request did not come under the purview of the RTI Act. What’s more, the panchayat has also taken the stand that information about the work need not be publicly displayed.
Regi John Kallikkad, an electrician and an activist of National Campaign for People’s Right to Information, in his RTI application had asked nine questions. His first question was that he should be intimated whenever the Kallikkad-Erekkonam road work was carried out. He said that he should be allowed to examine the work. "The query does not come under the RTI Act," was the one-line reply.
Fact is, section 2 (J) of the Right to Information Act deals with the right of a citizen to inspect any public work. It states that the right to information means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to inspection of work, documents, and records. Mr Kallikkad also wanted to know why certain crucial information, like the address of the person to whom the work contract has been awarded, contractor of the work or the deadline for the work or the kind of materials used for the work, were not displayed on the notice board at the work site.
The panchayat secretary, in his reply, stated that such a public dislay was not required. However, Section 4(1)(b) of the Act requires every public authority to publish 16 categories of information, which include not just general information like the functions and duties of the office, but also micro details like the manner of execution of subsidy programmes and beneficiary lists.
