The electricity posts are not always erected in the most orderly manner in some areas in Sri Lanka. In the case of the village of Seevalia Kanda in the Kandy District, lamp posts have been installed in a haphazard manner along the Kangaranmulla Road. The posts had been erected in way that obstructs vehicle and passenger movement. Several accidents have also been reported from this particular issue.
Although the villagers have sought assistance from the authorities and requested to get the lamp posts removed and reinstalled in better positions the request had fallen on deaf ears.
A youth in the area who learnt of the Right to Information (RTI) Act decided to use it to make an inquiry from the Aladeniya Branch of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) regarding this issue. He filed the application on 04.11.2018 and there had been no response for his application.
However, the respective Information officer has contacted the applicant over the phone and made some inquiries. However he has failed to comply with the RTI law in fulfilling the required steps to provide an answer within the stipulated period. This counts as a negligence of duties on the part of the information officer. It is important that public officials are educated about the importance of complying with the RTI Act and act accordingly.
The youth said he is planning to educate more youth and share his knowledge with them to keep using the RTI Act.
This update was prepared by participants of the Information and Communication Training Workshop conducted by the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) through a grant funded by the United States Agency for International Development through the Strengthening Democratic Governance and Accountability Project Activity.
“The contents of this post are the sole responsibility of SLPI and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.”
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