Activities


Legal Cell

Public Cause Research Foundation takes up cases on different issues of governance in courts across India. The cases vary from matters in Consumer Courts to get relief for the people subjected to harassment by service delivery by government agencies to Public Interest Litigation on various significant issues primarily related to people's participation in governance. PCRF has so far achieved several milestones both in terms of relief for individual litigants as well as judicial pronouncements on effective enforcement of the RTI Act. Several independent senior lawyers are extending their support to the litigation initiated by PCRF.

RTI Awards 2010

RTI awards were instituted in 2009 by PCRF in 3 categories- Best RTI Citizen, Best Information Commissioner and Best PIO to honor the outstanding work of those who kept the flag of RTI high.

The response to RTI Awards and its impact in the very first year was very encouraging. It generated a lot of interest amongst many information commissioners, PIO’s and citizens.

RTI Awards has now entered its second year. From this year onwards, the award and its processes would be monitored by RTI Awards Committee (RAC), a team of 65 RTI activists representing all Indian states. Public Cause Research Foundation will act as the secretariat for the Award.
To know more about RTI Awards, Click Here.

Local Self Governance

PCRF is working to strengthen democracy at the grass roots. We believe that local people’s assemblies - Gram Sabhas in rural areas and Mohalla Sabhas in urban areas - should have direct control over the government funds, functions and functionaries of their area.

These bodies should be provided with untied funds by the government and the people should decide collectively in open meetings how the funds are to be spent. Similarly, these assemblies should have the power to appoint, dismiss and withhold salaries of the local government functionaries (Local J.E., forest officers, safai karamcharis, teachers, doctors, rationwallah etc). The people should also have the right to recall their elected representatives.

In short, people’s assemblies should be allowed to directly manage all affairs of their area; which can be managed at their level. The role of the elected and unelected panchayats and municipal officials/ representatives would then be to simply carry out the will of the people. Only such issues, which cannot be managed at their level would go to higher levels of government. If majority of Gram Sabhas and Mohalla Sabhas in a state vote for a particular issue, the state government should implement it or enact necessary law or amend existing law.

To know more click here.