Right to information and citizen empowerment: A case study of Odisha

This paper, based upon an empirical study, deals with how the RTI Act empowers citizens. Information is power and the basis that influences decisions and mindsets of people to achieve their goals. Seeking information enhances the level of participation as a responsible citizen. In a diverse country like India, it is a major challenge for the governance system to provide an easy service delivery to the people which needs the people's participation by any means however; most of the people in India are unknown to access and use information in various fields for their benefits. The RTI Act, being comprehensive, allows Indian citizens to seek information from a public authority by rendering the government and its functionaries more accountable and responsible. It enables citizens to know about decisions of the government and the basis on which such decisions are made. This could facilitate the citizen exercising his/her judgment to influence the process of policy formulation and decision making. This is a case study in Odisha aiming at exemplifying the functioning of the RTI Act on ground, tries to understand the knowledge of the citizens about accessing information and critically assesses how accessing information and use of information through RTI Act empowers the citizens.