The Right to Information

Today India is rated by Transparency International as the ninth most corrupt country in the world. From the highest echelons of government to the lowest village functionaries, money that is earmarked for development is going into the pockets of the rich and powerful.

In spite of India being a democracy, there are millions in the villages today who are not yet on the voters' lists and they have no rights. No poor citizen living in a village can ask how much development money is being spent in his village and for what purpose the money is being spent. And this is where the corruption begins.

False receipts and vouchers running into millions of pounds ensure budgeted money is spent at the end of the year. While thousands of schools, dispensaries, roads, small dams, community centres and residential quarters are complete on paper, in reality they are incomplete, inhospitable and unutilised.

Today, the buzz words are transparency and accountability. But the answer lies not with bureaucrats or international experts - the answer lies within the rural communities themselves.

A mass-bassed organisation working in one of the most backward regions of Rajasthan has challenged this political structure -- and won. It serves as a model for the impact of people's action.

In the early 90s, the Mazdoor (Labour) Kisan (Farmer) Shakti (Strength) Sangathan (Organisation) (MKSS) started working in the Rajsamand District of Rajasthan. The MKSS prepared no project proposals, had no registered society, took no foreign funds, and recruited no staff. All they did was walk from village to village asking simple questions - did the people know how much money was coming to their village for development and where it was being spent?

These were questions the poor could understand but had not dared to ask. MKSS went to the government block office administering development expenditures for about 100 villages and requested detailed information on how the money was spent. They were told they had no right to the information. At the village level, all vouchers, bills and muster rolls showing who received wages were secret.

MKSS launched a people's campaign -- including public hearings of misappropriation and corruption of public funds and a 53 day strike in Jaipur in front of the State Assembly. The strike ended when a gazette of the State Government (a written government order) more than meeting the MKSS demands was made public. Yet at the village level, the officals refused to act on the order to make photocopies of all bills, vouchers and muster rolls available to any citizen who wanted details of the expenditures.

MKSS held a series of public hearings -- village by village - challenging the accountability of local officials. In response to the pressure and to avoid public humiliation, village sarpanch (elected village representatives) of the panchayat (village council) returned public money they had embezzled.

Not law or arrest or departmental enquiry made these officials return the money. It was the local villagers who finally humbled them.

Voluntary agencies too need to be held accountable for their development expenditures. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or community-based organisations (CBOs) must tackle the issue of corruption and embezzlement of funds. These agencies must:

• Be accountable and transparent to the communities they serve.
• Establish a code of conduct that does not violate the dignity of rural and urban communities, nor enourages dependency on outside funds.
• Support the right of every member of a community to be informed on how funds are being spent in the community.
  

Responding to accusations of misuse of funds by the Rajasthan State Government, the Barefoot College held a public hearing in July, 1997 sharing all records for a ten year period, including bank accounts, bills, vouchers, muster rolls, staff salaries and assets of the director. The hearing was attended by local villagers, journalists, social activists and jurists. Absent were the government officials whose allegations motivated the public hearing.

Since July 1997, four other Barefoot Collge affiliated organisations within Rajasthan have held transparency melas( public hearings). Barefoot College has also since held two Transparency melas.

A videotape addressing the questions and issues of public hearings for voluntary organisations is available as a teaching aid to organisations experimenting with similar practices in accountability. Please contact us for more information at barefoot@sancharnet.in

Social Work and Research Centre
Tilonia, Rajasthan, India