The process to set up a Right to Information (RTI) library,the first in Pune and probably the first in the country,kicked off on Monday with the Pune Municipal Corporation inviting tenders for the contract. Revealing this,civic body Standing Committee chairman Nilesh Nikam,also unveiled his plan to name the library after one of the pioneers of the RTI movement,Prakash Kardaley,the former resident editor of The Indian Express,Pune edition. Nikam on Monday said he would place a proposal to name the library after Kardaley,who had championed for RTI even before the Act had come into existence. He was a pioneer of the Right to Information movement in Pune. Naming the library after him will be a tribute to him, Nikam said. The PMC has made a provision of Rs 25 lakh to set up the library on the third floor of the PMC headquarters. Some officials felt the cost of setting up the library would come around Rs 10 lakh. The library will house the latest resolutions passed by the civic general body meetings and standing committee meetings besides all administrative decisions and proposals. RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar,on whose initiative the library is coming up,said copies of the latest civic decisions will be made available. From copies of resolutions passed in civic general body meetings and standing committee meetings to various administrative decisions affecting the city and the general public,everything will be available for public viewing¿For old documents,citizens will have to go to Nanawada near Vasant Talkies, Kumbhar said. The library,said Kumbhar,would also lessen the load on public information officers. Since the Act came into effect,the PMC office has been flooded with RTI queries. Once the library is set up,all information will be readily available for public scrutiny throughout the day. At present,citizens can see documents only from 3 pm to 5 pm on Mondays, he said. Kumbhar said the PMCs digital library would be connected to the RTI Library. Welcoming the idea of naming the library after Kardaley,RTI activist Vihar Dhurve said,He was the guru of RTI movement in Pune. Without him,RTI wouldnt have made deep inroads as it has today. He added there should be copies of the BPMC Act,development plans and development control rules in the library as these are not freely available. State Information Commissioner Vijay Kuvlekar also welcomed the idea to name the library after Kardaley. It is a good suggestion. I am happy the library will have documents as mentioned in Section 4 of the RTI Act,2005. Also,it will mean fewer RTI applications for the civic body.
