There is partial good news for people looking to file online RTI application at Mantralay. rtionline.maharashtra.gov.in will start functioning today on a trial basis. The trial period will give people the opportunity to give suggestions and raise objections if any.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said recently that the facility would start functioning from January. The government had been giving dates of its formal inauguration (four departments) since August, but kept postponing it.
Even now, it's not known when exactly the facility would formally be launched. "We are starting it on a trial basis. The principal secretary of IT department is not here, so this will be like a soft launch. Only after the formal launch will it start functioning at full stretch. As of now, people can look at the site and give suggestions or raise objections if any," said Virendra Singh, director, Information Technology.
The site that is in Marathi and English has the facility for filing application and for first appeal. It also has an option to know the status of one's application. The mode of payment (RTI application fees) is internet banking, ATM cum debit card and credit card (Master/Visa).
Thirty one of the 37 departments in Mantralay are shown on the site. All the departments within Mantralay would be covered first. The facility would be expanded to other public authorities later. Once an application is filed, the applicant will be given a registration number through SMS and email.
According to RTI Act, for providing information, an applicant has to be an Indian citizen. Besides asking an applicant's mobile number, e-mail (if any) and details of his/her card through which transaction will be conducted, there is little by way of verification to ensure that the person seeking information is an Indian. The central government too has the same issue. dna tried to get in touch with authorities, but could not get through to them.
"Where is the question of suggestions and objections. It is not a policy decision. They adopted the central government software over two years ago, and were to start the facility early this year. It should at least have been ready when the CM made the announcement. This is the bureaucracy's ploy to buy time," said Vijay Kumbhar, an RTI activist. "The question of nationality should not be a big issue as most of the information sought is suo motu disclosure. In case of sensitive information, the PIO can check on the applicant," he added.
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