JOIN USApplying for RTI online made easy
According to the group, the Central Information Commission has made only filing of complaints and second appeals online with the result that the online submission of RTI application was still in a concept stage.
The portal enables one to file RTI applications online by paying a service charge of Rs 125, including the application fees. The team had already met Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, who they said has encouraged their initiative.
Rasaal Dwivedi, a first year MBA student of IIM Kozhikode who is among the five-member group behind the portal, said the time and effort taken to file an RTI application continued to be a deterrent in filing of applications. “Since all government departments are not connected to a network, we were committed to finding a way around the constraints. That was how we decided to act as a one-stop shop for the entire process,’’ he told Deccan Herald. The applications are verified by a team, corrected and sent back to the applicant either by email or by post. If it is by post, the applicant could affix his signature on the application and send it back in the stamped envelop attached.
The applications are delivered at the respective departments either in person or by post. Payments are made using credit/debit cards or netbanking. Besides Dwivedi, the team also comprises Rahul Gupta and Prateek Kumar of IIT Kanpur 2008 batch as well as Vineesh Kumar and Vinay Kumar who passed out from IIT Delhi. Dwivedi said the service charge was to ensure the business sustainability but also be minuscule compared to the value the information added for the applicant.
DH News Service