Posted in Ranchi till 2000, Dr Sudhir Sharma, a government medical officer, chose a transfer to the Bihar health department after Jharkhand became a separate state.
Over the years, the doctor was privy to stories of extreme corruption in postings of medical officers across Jharkhand. Seniority in postings was regularly undermined to favour corrupt officers.
Dr Sharma filed an RTI application with the Jharkhand health department in 2008, asking for a list of medical officers posted across the state, and their seniority.
But the health department was unwilling to part with information, and the case went up for appeal in the Jharkhand Information Commission, finally drawing to a close in July this year
"I wasn't given all the info that I wanted, but the information commission ruled that the info given to me was satisfactory. However, even with the info I got, my colleagues tell me the effect of the RTI is that some sort of seniority is being maintained in postings in Jharkhand," said petitioner Dr Sudhir Sharma.
The biggest problem for Dr Sharma was that he had to travel all the way to Ranchi every time his case came up for hearing. The one RTI reform that he'd like to be implemented soon is a swift hearing and disposal of cases by information commissioners.
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