Info sought mostly by the underprivileged

Uneducated and underprivileged people are the ones mostly seeking information under Right to Information (RTI) Act as educated urban people seem to be less interested in applying it, said Information Commissioner Sadeka Halim at a discussion yesterday.
“Maximum number of applications we received so far under RTI Act are from underprivileged people, mostly farmers, while educated urban people seem to be sleeping on it,” said Sadeka.
The discussion titled “Role of right to information (RTI) in establishing transparency and fighting corruption in society” was held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city.
Dhaka School of Economics, Bangladesh Economic Association and Human Development Research Centre jointly organised it.
Discussants observed that corruption could be rapidly reduced if use of the act could be made convenient for people at grassroots.
“To reduce corruption, the first point which needs emphasis is making people, especially at grassroots level, aware of their rights,” said Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Ghulam Rahman.
“Effective implementation of Right to Information Act by people then would reduce corruption considerably,” added Ghulam Rahman.
Corruption already affected all the three state organs -- judiciary, executive and legislative. If ACC, Information Commission (IC) and National Human Rights Commission are made constitutional bodies like the Election Commission and allowed to function independently, it would check corruption at the three organs, he observed.
Speakers urged on countrywide campaign to create awareness among people about the law while developing capacity in offices to ensure smooth dissemination of information.
Former Chief Justice Tafazzal Islam, IC Secretary Nepal Chandra Sarker, human rights activist Dr Hamida Hossain and Country Director of Article 19, Bangladesh Tahmina Rahman also spoke.