T hough the issue was raised earlier and the branch manager in Kovilpatti was manager in Kovilpatti was directed by the insurance inspector to carry out the work, the case was gathering dust due to unnecessary delay.
It was only because of the efforts this 59-year old president of District Cooperative Employees Union that the file pertaining to their insurance cover under the ESI Act was taken up for action and the loading/unloading workers at the society office got their due.
Esakkimuthu has also used it in the past to help the labourers at a BPCL plant know whether their contractor had remitted the EPF & ESI recoveries made from the contract workers for a year for which they hitherto had made futile struggles between various offices. Esakkimuthu swears by the RTI and keeps on using this time and again to get his personal tussles cleared as well, thus setting a strong example for the other citizens who could benefit from the RTI Act in a similar manner.
Sharing his personal experience he claims, "Public authorities act only after the receipt of an RTI application. The RTI Act is really a boon to the citizens in as much as it stimulates officials for early settlement of long pending grievances of the public." He further adds, "In the absence of the RTI Act, the various representations and reminders will fall on deaf ears. With the help of the RTI Act, issues get settled within no time as compared to past and this is a victory for the RTI Act."
His was one of the interesting nominations received by the RTI Awards Secretariat in the Best RTI Citizen category.
The common man can become the champion of the RTI by using it to address any malpractice occurring in the system known to him and thus help in making the government more accountable towards handling public money and bring transparency in the system.
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