By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: Right to Information Act is proving a useful measure to make public information on which our babus – government officers – love to sit for months and at times years. Mohd Irshad Hussain, a PhD student and leader of a Muslim youth group, uses the Act to get the results of minority scholarship schemes, which he promptly puts on his blog for all to see.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Hussain, who hails from Sitamadhi, a backward minority concentration district in Bihar, says he began using the RTI Act in 2008 for centrally sponsored mega minority scholarship schemes when he saw the concerned state department is delaying publication of the results of successful candidates. Officially, he says, the results should be made public in February or March but the state government normally delays it 2-5 months. Hussain files RTI for the results in the end of February and as soon as he gets the results he uploads them on his blog www.irshad-sio.blog.com.
This is not all. Hussain, who is doing doctoral in biochemistry from Patna University while heading Bihar chapter of Students Islamic Organisation of India, has in fact activated all district units of SIO for the scholarship schemes. The units work for making people aware of the schemes. They provide them application forms and help them submit them at concerned offices. Through his social and RTI activism, Irshad Hussain has helped several thousand people to get benefit of the schemes.
Mohd Irshad Hussain, SIO Bihar president in his Patna office
For the purpose he also runs a Student Welfare Helpline. Its contact No. is 9835438376.
However, he thinks there is a need to make changes in the schemes to make them more effective in terms of quality and implementation.
Irshad Hussain blog for student welfare: www.irshad-sio.blog.com
Student Welfare Helpline: 9835438376