<p>The Department of Personnel and Training has said it had spent Rs 1.19 crore during 2008-09, Rs 4.91 crore during 2009-10 and Rs 77 lakh during 2010-11 (till November 2).<br />The information was provided in an RTI reply to activist S C Agrawal.<br /><br />Even five years after the transparency law was implemented in the country, experts feel that a majority of people are still not aware about it.<br /><br />First Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah had earlier this year said that the awareness level in rural areas about the Act was only 10 per cent compared to 30 per cent in urban areas of the country.<br /><br />He had also said that there was a need to increase awareness among people which would help widen the base of RTI users and enforcing transparency in the governance.<br /><br />The Department of Personnel and Training, which is the nodal office for the implementation of the Act, has quoted an independent study saying 13 per cent of rural population and 33 per cent of urban population are aware of the RTI Act.<br /><br />It said there has been a lack of initiative on the part of the appropriate governments in the propagation of the Act.<br /><br />The department, in a reply in the Lok Sabha in August, had said that awareness generation about the Act is one of the several areas where working of the Act needs to be strengthened.</p>
<p>The Department of Personnel and Training has said it had spent Rs 1.19 crore during 2008-09, Rs 4.91 crore during 2009-10 and Rs 77 lakh during 2010-11 (till November 2).<br />The information was provided in an RTI reply to activist S C Agrawal.<br /><br />Even five years after the transparency law was implemented in the country, experts feel that a majority of people are still not aware about it.<br /><br />First Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah had earlier this year said that the awareness level in rural areas about the Act was only 10 per cent compared to 30 per cent in urban areas of the country.<br /><br />He had also said that there was a need to increase awareness among people which would help widen the base of RTI users and enforcing transparency in the governance.<br /><br />The Department of Personnel and Training, which is the nodal office for the implementation of the Act, has quoted an independent study saying 13 per cent of rural population and 33 per cent of urban population are aware of the RTI Act.<br /><br />It said there has been a lack of initiative on the part of the appropriate governments in the propagation of the Act.<br /><br />The department, in a reply in the Lok Sabha in August, had said that awareness generation about the Act is one of the several areas where working of the Act needs to be strengthened.</p>