NEW DELHI: Filing RTI applications now becomes easier as government extends e-filing of both requests and petitions and enabling people to pay through web based payment gateway. After launching the facility fordepartment of personnel and training (DoPT) recently, on June 3 (Monday) this will be extended to nearly half a dozen departments including road transport and highways ministry.
DoPT has already launched the portal, , to file RTI applications/ first appeals online along with payment gateway. Payment can be made through internet banking of SBI and its associate banks and debit/ credit cards of Master/ Visa. Through this portal, RTI applications/ first appeals can be filed for the main ministries/ departments of Central government located in the national capital.
After filing their applications, the citizens can track the status and will also get online reply from the ministries/ departments. However, the website mentions that such applications should not be filed for other public authorities under Central/ state governments through this portal. This includes the entire Delhi government.
Sources said DoPT officials told highway ministry officials on Thursday that the number of RTI applications that they receive has increased manifold since the facility was started. As of now Ministry of Home Affairs, departments of agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy and fishery, consumer affairs, food and public distribution.
While RTI activist Subhash Agrawal welcomed the initiative he said the service will have practical limitation because of public authorities being in very large numbers apart from government departments and ministries. "System should be formulated whereby there may be sub options for undertakings after main options of departments and ministries respectively controlling these undertakings," he pointed out.
He added that the DoPT should also take up issuing RTI-stamps or numbered RTI-coupons as the simplest mode of paying fees and copying charges. It will not only save petitioners of cumbersome use of postal orders for the payment mode, but also save largely on handling cost of postal orders.
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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