Priyank Jain
IIT Bombay
Summer Intern, 2009
priyankjainiitb@gmail.com

My journey to this essay starts way back when I as a kid used to go to different government offices with my parents. I still remember the disgust and disappointment we used to face. They still are the “office of Gods” where no respect is given to the dignity of a common man and where complete apathy is shown towards the time-value of the common citizen. At innumerable instances I pledged not to enter a government office again.

Wheel of time kept its pace and I entered into a government college (IIT Bombay). Serving as an editor of the student magazine ‘Aawaaz’ I came across an issue where a hostel mess catering to 300 students was renovated in 1.5 years with 1.6 crores rupees. That was when I filed my first RTI (Right to Information) application which was quite amateurish. I get a reply to deposit 1600 rupees to collect the asked information. Obviously I didn’t pay that but I learnt the importance of a sharp RTI application.

Awed by the power and potential Right to Information wields, I decided to do a 2 months internship in a leading think tank, Centre for Civil Society, Delhi. I did a 1 month research project on MLA – Local Area Development Scheme. There my experience with RTI was even worse. I had to travel vast distances to file an application and I got even more hopeless replies. Most of them were the acknowledgements of my application getting transferred to someone else. There I sat thinking how such a powerful act was rendered helpless by systematic manipulations.

Right to Information Act was enacted in 2005 and has still not grown up to the potential among the masses. Because of the lack of awareness about measures available for grievance reprisal, people’s disgust was not communicated and answered. Individuals rely on their own for drafting applications and spend days wandering around government offices. Some motivated individuals and NGOs have formed helplines and web-portals but they remained aloof to the masses. Through individual efforts innumerable success stories came out but all after too much of pain and suffering.

Democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information. However due to the ignorance of general public and the complex and dreadful government machinery, there is a widespread corruption and unaccountability at all levels of the government. Because of the rampant apathy and insensitivity shown towards the public by the officials, people are reluctant to approach them. ‘Whom to’ and ‘how to’ approach for grievance rectification and complaint lodging in government departments remains mystery for common citizens. This scenario creates a need for a convenient and easily accessible link between the government and the citizen.

Joining the dots between my experiences with the government offices and with the RTI, I conceived an idea of a service oriented business acting as a middleman between the citizens and the government. The ‘Citizen Support Centre’ (CSC) is envisaged with a mission to remove various sociological and practical difficulties involved in citizen-to-government transactions; and to create awareness among citizenship and bring more accountability and transparency in the governance.

What is CSC?

CSC will be a for-profit entity, acting as “middle-men” facilitating the process of collecting, fine tuning and dispatching RTI applications, complaints and appeals to the competent government authorities. The ingenuity of the model lies in employing the existing infrastructure and customer base of Xerox shops/ cyber cafés/ PCO booths as ‘customer help centers’ for greater reach and feasibility. The model will be a time saving, reliable and more dignified way of reaching to the government. In long run such initiatives will compel government bodies to disclose information proactively, hence increasing transparency and accountability in the system. The model is inspired from a government initiative called, Lok Vani in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh and the regular courier services available in all towns and cities.

I conceptualized the idea in June 2009. Since then I along with my 2 friends have worked exhaustively on validating and debugging the idea. We met many leading RTI activists, bureaucrats and public representatives to validate the model. We have also conducted comprehensive surveys with the potential collection centre owners and customers. We ensured institutionalized partnerships with leading citizen groups, NGOs, youth organizations and media houses. We started with only RTI applications then included other grievance and vigilance related services and it can grow into services related to the procurement of licenses and certificates like ration cards, birth certificates, caste certificates etc. We also intend to incorporate webportals and telephonic helplines for more convenience. However the ingenuity of the model is still its simplicity.

The model will first see a steep rise in the number of RTI applications and a vigilant citizenry. The substantial outcome will be more and more people saying no to corruption and asking for their rights through information seeking. The venture will be called a success when it forces government bodies to disclose more information proactively. The efficient functioning of the model will reduce the hassles involved in going to the government departments. Hence time away, our proficient execution will reduce the very premise of our existence. That is what I wish to.

It will be utterly wrong to believe that I am the only awakened citizen of India. The truth is that every year thousands of ordinary people rise up with a commitment to make social reforms. However their enthusiasm is suffocated by creating systematic hassles in obtaining information. I intend to support these self motivated individuals; and given this kind of support system they can divert all their energies to the areas they are determined to.

I will conclude by saying that we live in an imperfect world and imperfections are inevitable in any model or thoughts. Once put into practice, it will be honed by itself. CSC will involve relentless efforts, but it is something very close to my heart and I will put in my best efforts to see it implemented.