(a) Background of the act and the beginning of this movement in India:
- This kind of Act was first implemented in Sweden in 1776. In 1946, ‘United Nations’ declared the ‘Right to Information to be the fundamental human right.
- In 1982, L.K. Kulwant, a resident of Jaipur in Rajasthan, a social activist initiated the process by applying to know the Jaipur Municipal Corporation’s work for cleaning the city.
- The High Court gave a clear verdict stating that ‘Right to Information is a fundamental right of all citizens.
- In 1990, Aruna Roy started the movement called ‘Majdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan’. A need for ‘Right to Information was started through this movement.
- Harsh Mander, the Divisional Commissioner of Bilaspur showed courage to disclose official information while serving as a bureaucrat.
- The struggle of Anna Hazare in 2001, had a decisive role in Maharashtra in this matter. The Act was implemented in Maharashtra on 12th October 2005.
(b) Definition of ‘Information’: The definition of term ‘Information’ includes official records, documents, memoranda, emails, comments, consultations, press notes, circulars, orders, logbooks, tenders, reports, correspondence, formats, models, electronic data, the information of a private institution or an individual that is available in the records of any public establishment.
(c) The rights of citizens under this act:
- Right to information grants access to official documents, records, permission to obtain their copies, to take notes, to extract passages, to get samples of authorised material and prints of data stored in CDs, Floppy discs, tapes, video cassettes, or in any other form, or stored on computers.
- Maharashtra Board Class 12 History Solutions Chapter 11 India Transformed Part 1 – Maharashtra Board Solutions https://maharashtraboardsolutions.in/maharashtra-board-class-12-history-solutions-chapter-11/ 16/34 Citizens can get the desired information after submitting an application to the ‘Information officer’ of a ‘Public Authority.