While we have already re-imagined to be living in the digital India, things seem to go haywire with respect to filing an online Right to Information (RTI). Open the e- portal, everything seems to be functional until you proceed to make the transaction. It’s been a few days that the claimants are facing problems paying the fees online.
“The RTI Online portal is not functioning or rarely functions since last two weeks. The application portal does not redirect to payment gateway and thus, we are unable to make RTI Requests,” informs Vishnu Sharma, Advocate and RTI Activist from Ahmedabad.
It is important to note that the government had release an e-portal in April 2013, where a requestor can submit an RTI application and pay Rs. 10 fee online. The RTI Act’s nodal agency, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), had opened the e-portal rtionline.gov.in. With the assistance of National Informatics Centre and State Bank of India, the project had been started. A candidate simply registers once on the e-portal and gets a “user-id” and “password.”
“The Online RTI portal by DoPT was a big relief to a common man when it comes to dealing with the government authorities,” opines Sharan Shah, Advocate from Vadodara. The RTI absolutely acts as a sword against the stick of public authorities. “I have filed more than 25 RTIs last year and have got responses from the authorities who were silent at times,” says Shah.
The government authorities play a role of obstructionist rather than those of facilitators. As a matter of fact, these officials use the laws as a stick to beat and harass the innocents and pave the way to corruption. “Moreover, there are instances when the department refuses to accept the RTI application and scraps the RTI requests sent through registered post,” shares Sharma. Furthermore, the government has developed a P G portal for administrative reforms and public grievances wherein specific RTI grievances are not entertained. Hence, most of the times the one who wishes to file an RTI is helpless.
Online RTI filing is undoubtedly beneficial for citizens. It is available for even initial appeals. However, one hopes the experience is smooth sailing, otherwise cynicism sets in. “The portal which we are talking about is about filing the RTI applications under Central authorities. The department should be aware and must develop a proper portal for sound governance,” concludes Shah.
