Level RTI: Rajasthan Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) spearheaded
the right to information movement in Rajasthan - and
subsequently, throughout India. MKSS famously used the right to
information as tool to draw attention to the underpayment of
daily wage earners and farmers on government projects, and more
generally, to expose corruption in government expenditure.
Initially, MKSS lobbied government to obtain information such as
muster rolls (employment and payment records) and bills and
vouchers relating to purchase and transportation of materials.
This information was then crosschecked at Jan Sunwais (public
hearings) against actual testimonies of workers. The public
hearings were incredibly successful in drawing attention to
corruption and exposing leakages in the system. They were
particularly significant because of their use of hard
documentary evidence to support the claims of villagers. time,
the media and the government paid increasing attention to the
results of the Jan Sunwais. Consequently, greater att