Paisa Vasool: You Can Count On It

"It’s easy," says the principal. "Now we can ask the government servants to reveal the budgets for roads or drainage or water pipes, and ask them how much was actually spent and on which projects," she adds. "What do you mean? I take my son to this new sports stadium and the approach road is filthy, congested and unsafe (because of the riff-raff hanging around there). Can I now ask the city’s sports department to tell me about the original plan, its budget, and the thinking behind it?" asks the housewife. The reply: even if you don’t get all the details, you can still pressure the bureaucrats to perform.

Slowly but steadily, a quiet change is sweeping across rural and semi-urban India. The Information Act has suddenly armed the people with the right to question public investments and to figure out if the money was actually spent for the budgeted projects. No longer will you have a situation where a project is completed only on paper, and the money is pocketed by the politicians, bureaucrats and contractors. For all you know, the quantum of public money that’s siphoned off may come down drastically. But only if the act works in practice will officials be forced to part with details. Anyway, Indian citizens now realise the enormous power they possess to make governments accountable.