Non-Resident Indians urged to use Right to Information

A legal empowerment meeting has urged non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the UAE to exercise their Right to Information (RTI) to address issues back home. The meeting, the first in a series of Indo-UAE legal lectures, was organised by international lawyers Musthafa & Almana and the Dubai Judicial Institute in the city this week. "There are many challenges that NRIs face when they apply for building permits and loans. Things may be inordinately delayed. But NRIs can seek justice by asking questions under the RTI Act," Asaf Ali, Director-General of Prosecution and State Public Prosecutor of the Kerala High Court, told XPRESS. Ali, one of the speakers, said he himself had filed 6,000 RTI applications since the enactment of the law in 2005 to secure information and fix responsibility of public officials. "But the number of NRIs who file RTI applications is still small." Musthafa Zafeer O.V., Senior Lawyer and Managing Partner of Musthafa & Almana, who compared the UAE and Indian legal systems in his lecture, earlier said, "NRIs can avail of the RTI Act to seek answers with regard to skewed charges by government departments, hospitals, university admissions and other issues in their home country." "We are thinking of setting up an RTI Working Group to assist NRIs to use RTI effectively. We are currently in the process of securing necessary permissions," he said. Indian Consul General Sanjay Verma was the chief guest at the meeting. The Consulate said, "As per the provisions of RTI Act 2005, the Consulate has designated P.K. Ashok Babu, Consul, as its Public Information Officer (PIO)." As per procedure, an RTI application has to be submitted to the PIO. "The payment of fees for processing the RTI application, which is Rs10 [Dh0.69 equivalent in local currency], has to be made at the consulate. It shall be in the form of a banker's cheque, demand draft or an Indian Postal Order. Any application without the payment of fees will be treated as invalid," said the consulate. However, there is no provision for paying the fee online. AT A GLANCE The Indian Consulate said queries can be filed on a plain sheet of paper duly signed by the applicant (with a proof of his/her Indian citizenship) after paying the Rs10 fee. Only NRIs (not PIO/OCI card holders) are eligible to seek information under the act. Applications can be addressed to Public Information Officer, Consulate General of India, Dubai. -    Contact: 04-397 1222, 04-397 1333 -    E-mail: media@cgidubai.com; consulcommerce@cgidubai.com -    Fax: 04-397 0453