In a quest to save Mumbai's green cover

Sixty five RTI applications and still going strong. NDTV meets an angry citizen from Mumbai who's activism has done his city a world of good.

Gaurang Vohra is a pathologist by profession and an RTI campaigner by passion.

He is also an NDTV nominee for the RTI Awards 2009.

When he's not analysing body fluids looking for pathology, Gaurang Vohra's concerns are social pathologies like corruption and the destruction of the city's green cover.

Using the Right to Information Act, Gaurang has brought to light flawed policy, corruption and malpractice, helping clear illegal encroachments and saving the city's green cover from depleting.

"The MMRDA had planned to chop more than 1400 trees lining LBS Marg from Sion to Mulund for road widening. We brought this to the attention of Sunderlal Bahuguna and organised a Chipko movement which forced the MMRDA to relent," says Gaurang.

With his next RTI application Gaurang unearthed how the civic authorities were replacing old sturdy stone blocks with new fragile ones.

"It was a needless plan and BMC spent nearly 30 crores on the project without any study on the comparative sturdiness of the existing paver blocks," Gaurang recalls.

With 65 successful applications under his belt and many more to go, Vohra says the biggest RTI hurdle has yet to be overcome.

"There is little adherence to the spirit of the RTI," he says.