A new breed of professionals is on the rise that owes its existence to the Right To Information (RTI) Act that has grown popular and powerful as it has proved to be effective in empowering citizens.
The professionals, though few, are experts on the RTI Act. They are well-versed with the act's finer points and can draft questionnaires for applicants. The consultants charge anything from a couple of hundreds to a few thousands. In some cases, they demand a share of the commission if there is monetary benefit to the client.
A Ramakrishnan, who retired as Maharashtra principal secretary, and became an RTI consultant, said, "We began to provide consultancy on RTI-related issues a few months ago as we realized people are eager to use the tool but are unaware of the modalities even though it is one of the least complicated acts."
