The transparency revolution has gone a step further, as people now do not need to go to a government office to seek information under RTI. They can file petitions from the comfort of their homes as the government has launched a portal along with an application that makes online filing possible.

The portal, rtionline.gov.in, was launched by V Narayanasamy, minister of state of personnel, public grievances and pensions and prime minister’s office, on Wednesday. Developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the website enables the citizens to not only file an RTI application online but to also file first appeals and make the online payment for it.

For the online payment of fees, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) has tied up with the State Bank of India (SBI) and its associate banks. It has been decided that the department will not charge any transaction fee. For the below poverty line (BPL) people, as in the case of offline application, there is no application fee for online version too, though they will have to furnish evidence of it along with their application.
The portal will cover 82 public offices under the central government. The states may also join later.

This move comes at a time when there is a debate whether political parties come under the RTI Act. Asked about it, the minister said, “It is for parliament to decide.” Parliament last week amended the law to specifically exclude the political parties from the RTI Act reversing a June verdict by the central information commission (CIC).

However, Narayansamy maintained that the RTI legislation empowered the common man. “It is a very important legislation. It is a unique instrument in the hands of the common man to get whatever information from the government offices. It is doing wonders because it is serving its purpose. Currently only five-six countries have similar laws and India is a pioneer amongst them.”

The web portal will also help the government officials to make the RTI process a little easier and faster. It will enable the authorities to keep track of the requests received. It will alert them about new petitions, those under processing, those that have crossed 20 days’ time and those at the 30-day mark.

Once the RTI application is received by the nodal officer, looking at the requirements, the officer can forward the application to the concerned information officer. The senior authorities will have a clear view of the application. The applications that are received physically, by post, will also be combined with the applications received online.

Moreover, thanks to the online facility, Indians living abroad too can easily make use of it. It is as they say, the more the merrier.