Archive · 9 Oct 2026
Chennai Engineer Uses RTIs to Protect Elephants and Communities
Dayanand Krishnan is an engineer who uses a law called RTI to ask government offices for records.
He and another activist got railway information about where elephants were being hit by trains.
Dayanand put the information on a map to show which track areas were dangerous.
The information helped draw attention to ways to protect elephants.
He has also used RTI records to investigate water quality and other local issues.
He says people should send requests to the office that holds the information and ask for specific records.
If an office does not reply, people can appeal.
Dayanand hopes more people will use facts from government records to help their communities.
In 2021, Dayanand Krishnan and fellow activist R Pandiarajan obtained railway records about elephant deaths along tracks near the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border.
Dayanand mapped accident locations and timings; the findings helped highlight dangerous stretches and the need for safety measures.
The Madras High Court pursued detection measures in Tamil Nadu, where Dayanand says the system has recorded 6,000 to 7,000 elephant sightings safely.
After an elephant and its calf were killed near Palakkad on 12 August 2026, the court called for the detection system to be extended to Kerala.
Dayanand shares practical RTI guidance, including addressing requests to the right public authority, asking for existing records, and appealing when replies are missing or unsatisfactory.
- Who
- Chennai civil engineer and GIS consultant Dayanand Krishnan, who worked with RTI activist R Pandiarajan on railway records.
- What
- Dayanand uses Right to Information requests to investigate public issues and is sharing guidance on how citizens can use the process.
- When
- He began the elephant-data effort with R Pandiarajan in 2021; the article also reports an elephant and calf were killed on 12 August 2026.
- Where
- The elephant issue concerns railway tracks along the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, including a stretch near Palakkad; Dayanand is based in Chennai.
- Why
- He says official records can help identify problems, support evidence-based public scrutiny, and hold public authorities accountable.
Dayanand's account
Authorities' positions
Tambaram water-quality findings
Dayanand's account
Dayanand says official records showed E. coli contamination in an underground water sump linked to a sewage-affected lake, and that public health reports had raised concerns earlier.
Authorities' positions
Dayanand says the corporation disputed his findings, called them "fake news," and filed a case against him; the article does not provide the corporation's account directly.
Responses to railway RTIs
Dayanand's account
Dayanand says Southern Railway increasingly cited Section 7(9) to avoid providing information, and argues that the provision does not permit refusing information altogether.
Authorities' positions
The article says Section 7(9) permits changing the format of access when the requested format would require too many resources or risk damaging records; it does not include a direct response from Southern Railway.
- RTI law
- The Right to Information Act, 2005 allows Indian citizens to request information held by public authorities.
- General response period
- Public authorities generally must respond within 30 days, though some circumstances have different deadlines.
- Typical application fee
- The prescribed fee is generally Rs 10.
- Elephant records
- In 2021, Dayanand and R Pandiarajan sought information from Southern Railway on the locations, timings, and track sections where elephants were killed.
- Sightings recorded
- Dayanand says around 6,000 to 7,000 elephant sightings have been safely recorded on the Tamil Nadu side.
- Further appeals
- A first appeal generally goes to a senior officer in the same public authority; a second appeal can go to the relevant information commission.
- Online applications
- The Central RTI Online Portal accepts applications for central government authorities, not state government authorities.