Launch of the Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC)

Launch followed by an interactive Session

ORGANISERS:

CELL FOR RESEARCH IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRAYATNA

On 9^th December, 2010, on the occasion of International Anti-corruption Day,NGO, Prayatna, working in the area of good governance through Right to Information and Public interest litigation; a member of TII (Transparency International India), in collaboration with CRIL(Cell for Research in International Law) and National Law Institute University (NLIU) organized an interactive session.

The chief guest for the occasion was Mr. Tiwari, Chief Information Commissioner, Madhya Pradesh. The occasion was also graced by the eminent presence of Mr. Surendra Singh, ADG. There was representative participation from all quarters including the Public departments, media, NGOs and also the young generation represented by the young legal minds from NLIU, Bhopal.

The occasion was also marked by the formal launch of Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) as a joint endeavour of TII, Prayatana and CRIL with a primary objective to fight corruption by providing legal information, advice and assistance to victims and witnesses of corruption, enabling them to know their rights and pursue complaints.

The interactive session resulted in a very healthy discussion and dialogue taking into view the practical niceties of the issue.

Mr. Tiwari identified the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme as one of the worse examples of corruption in India at a grass-root level which affected the most deprived sections of the society.

Mr. Singh emphasized that curative mechanisms would not be enough to fight corruption and must also be supported by certain preventive mechanisms.

The Benami Culture in India was identified as a “Bone Marrow” of corruption in India and therefore the Universal Identification Number was unanimously agreed to be a welcome change which would curb the menace of corruption.

A zero tolerance agenda against corruption and self- responsibility of the common man were emphasized as primary steps to eliminate corruption.

By the launch of ALAC, the first step towards the campaign against corruption has already been taken; ALAC would be fully operational from the month of February, 2011.