Fighting for Better Roads - Through Information Act

The Indian organisation Youth Task Force (YTF), which describes itself as a "youth movement committed to fighting against corruption and ensure transparency and accountability in the system" has, as reported here, taken on cleaning up corruption in road projects. Building on youth power in a country where two-thirds of the population is young, this campaign is calling on help from students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi and other engineering colleges. This initiative, which is focused on involving Indian youth in decision-making processes, has filed 48 applications for information through the Indian Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 - a law granting citizens the freedom to access official information. Their requests cover Rs.4.3 billion worth of projects, beginning with the Public Works Department (PWD) of Delhi, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Their goal is to dig into "estimates, measurement books, road sketches, job mix formulas" and also inspect the roads and sample the material used. According to campaign organisers, "We want to expose corruption that plagues the system, to inform people about the Right to Information, to mobilise people, and to establish a transparent and accountable system." As stated here, they've been inspired by the campaigns of other youthful officials like Arvind Kejriwal, the 38-year-old former tax officer who quit government service to campaign for transparency in officialdom, and won the Magsaysay award. The YTF is running an additional information transparency campaign on university examinations by asking for access to 400 evaluated answer sheets in the Delhi University.