Guwahati:
As the second round of RTI awards draw close, NDTV takes a look at last year's winner, farmer leader Akhil Gogoi. Akhil Gogoi used the RTI act to lead a crusade against corruption. However, the battle is far from over. Akhil Gogoi continues to fight ever since. Fight on different fronts.
Akhil Gogoi is the winner of the RTI award 2009. But it didn't stop just at that. He continues with his war against corruption, an uphill battle. In the Upper Assam's Golaghat District, Akhil Gogoi is considered as a prominent farmers' leader. Leading a movement, Gogoi marches ahead with a mission to fight scams in government schemes.
Armed with the Right to Information Act, Gogoi has exposed several scams in the past, like the scam of 1.25 crore in Sampoorna Gram Rozgar Yojana, and a 60 lakh scam in Indira Awas Yojana that earned him the first National RTI Award in 2009.
"After I received the award, I was able to take the movement to the grass roots. Our aim is to take the RTI revolution to all villages,'' says Gogoi.
Gogoi's fight now is most intense against construction of big dams on the Brahmaputra, irregularities in the employment guarantee scheme, and the Public Distribution System.
"We have started an agitation against corruption in PDS across all villages of Assam. We are trying to teach people to use RTI and expose more corruption and scams in the government,'' added Gogoi.
Akhil Gogoi's efforts have not only helped in fighting corruption in the region, it has also brought more awareness in people about the RTI tool and how effective it can prove. It is on the shoulders of these warriors like Gogoi, that RTI is penetrating so fast in the remote parts of India. RTI is soon becoming the tool for change.
Akhil Gogoi is the winner of the RTI award 2009. But it didn't stop just at that. He continues with his war against corruption, an uphill battle. In the Upper Assam's Golaghat District, Akhil Gogoi is considered as a prominent farmers' leader. Leading a movement, Gogoi marches ahead with a mission to fight scams in government schemes.
Armed with the Right to Information Act, Gogoi has exposed several scams in the past, like the scam of 1.25 crore in Sampoorna Gram Rozgar Yojana, and a 60 lakh scam in Indira Awas Yojana that earned him the first National RTI Award in 2009.
"After I received the award, I was able to take the movement to the grass roots. Our aim is to take the RTI revolution to all villages,'' says Gogoi.
Gogoi's fight now is most intense against construction of big dams on the Brahmaputra, irregularities in the employment guarantee scheme, and the Public Distribution System.
"We have started an agitation against corruption in PDS across all villages of Assam. We are trying to teach people to use RTI and expose more corruption and scams in the government,'' added Gogoi.
Akhil Gogoi's efforts have not only helped in fighting corruption in the region, it has also brought more awareness in people about the RTI tool and how effective it can prove. It is on the shoulders of these warriors like Gogoi, that RTI is penetrating so fast in the remote parts of India. RTI is soon becoming the tool for change.
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