Gujarat government directed to furnish untouchability report under RTI
13 Jun, 2013In 2009, a detailed study of status of untouchability in Gujarat was carried out by NGO Navsarjan Trust and three US-based organizations documenting 99 different forms of untouchability prevalent in around 1,000 villages of Gujarat. Later in October 2010, the state government had commissioned Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University to undertake a fresh study titled 'Abhadchet ni Bhal' (Understanding Untouchability).
An application was filed in 2010 with the Scheduled Castes Welfare Department under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get the report on the government sponsored study along with an action taken report from the government. It was rejected claiming that making the report public would lead to law and order problems in villages where dalits might be targeted for the statements made by them.
However, as the matter was brought before the Gujarat Information Commission (GIC), the information commissioner has ordered the state government to provide the report to the appellant within a month.