City’s RTI activists urge TN to start portal for e-filing of applications

City’s RTI activists urge TN to start portal for e-filing of applications 

The Times Of India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:

Right to Information (RTI) Act activists in the city are keenly awaiting the newly elected DMK-led Tamil Nadu government to effect changes in the way the Act is implemented in the state.

For starters, activists want the state government to implement filing of RTIs through an online portal for all government departments.

The previous AIADMK-led government had implemented online filing of RTIs on a trial basis only for the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&AR) department. However, with a glut in applications, the portal has been forced to clarify that only applications pertaining to the department would be accepted.

In neighbouring Puducherry, RTI applications to more than 50 departments can be filed online through the Central government’s portal rtionline.gov.in.

Pavan Gandhi, an RTI activist and advocate, said that the software of the central government is available and it is not impossible to replicate it at the state level. “But the question is whether the government wants to be transparent. Online filing of RTI applications makes it easier for the applicant while physical filing is cumbersome. Reduced paperwork in the wake of Covid-19 is also good,” he said.

Veteran RTI activist V Gopalakrishnan said that state finance minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, who heads the P&AR department, is an internationally noted figure and hence should bring in similar transparency measures. “We have been discussing this online filing of RTIs since 2014. When we have brought in the best economists in the world to advise our state government, why shouldn’t our technology also be advanced,” Gopalakrishnan said.

Activists also pointed out that buying a court fee stamp for ₹10, which is a pre-requisite for physical RTI applications, is cumbersome as availability is limited. “Also, many vendors charge ₹2-3 extra for the court fee stamp,” Gopalakrishnan said.

The previous AIADMK-led government had implemented online filing of RTIs on a trial basis for the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&AR) department