HOW TO FILE AN RTI APPLICATION

An RTI application can be made on a sheet of plain paper and can have any number of questions. It should be addressed to the public information officer of the department or organisation concerned. Rs.10/- should be paid as application fee by cash or through postal order, court fee stamp or demand draft. Questions should be direct and leave no room for the information officer to give vague replies. Information officer has to reply within 30 days of receipt of the application, failing which he is liable to a fine of 250 per day. Appeal can be filed with the head of the department in which the application was filed, if the information officer fails to reply within the deadline. Second appeal can be filed before the central or state information commission if applicant is not satisfied with the replies.

According to Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, information means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails , press releases, circulars, contracts, samples, models, data held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law in force.

File an RTI application in 5 simple steps:

1. Identify the department/subject of your query. Is it a state or a central subject? Keep in mind that different rules apply even though they fall under the same Act.

2. Do a little background research. Find out what information falls under the purview of the department concerned.

3. Phrase your questions wisely and precisely. Ask for a copy of the documents. Fill up the RTI application form (application form given).

4. Attach court fee stamp or Indian Postal Order of worth Rs 10 with the application and keep a copy of it with you for future reference.

5. Post your application or hand it over personally to the ‘TAPAL” also called as Inward/Outward section of the respective department.

The essential requirements of an application filed under the RTI Act are:

(a) The applicant should be a citizen of India.
(b) The application should contain the particulars of information sought.
(c) The evidence of payment of application fee should be enclosed.
(d) The address of the applicant should be available for sending a reply.

Personal details except those necessary for contacting an applicant are neither required to be mentioned nor can be called for by the PIO.

Dopt Orders 2013 - Extension of RTI web portal for online filing of RTI application

No.1/1/2013-1R 

Government of India 

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions 

Department of Personnel & Training

North Block, New Delhi 

Dated: 17/05/2013

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Extension of RTI web portal for online filing of RTI application.

In continuation of this Department’s O.M. of even number dated 22/04/2013, ¡t is intimated that training to RTI Nodal Officers, RTI Cell officials and NIC/IT personnel attached with Ministries/Departments of Government of India have been completed by DoPT with the help of NIC.

2. It is again requested that training to all the CPlOs and First Appellate Authorities (FAAs) may be provided by the concerned Ministry/Department, through the officials trained by DoPT/NIC, User name/password to all the CPIOs and FAAs are to be provided by RTI Nodal Officers of the concerned Ministry/Department. It is imperative that the RTI Nodal Officers start updating the details of CPIOs / FAAs in the system and issue user name and password to them at the earliest.

3. As mentioned in the said O.M., it is planned to extend the facility of RTI online web portal to all the Ministries/Departments of Government of India. This facility is being extended to Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Department of Consumer Affairs and Department of Food and Public Distribution from 22 May 2013.

sd/- 

(Sandeep Jain) 

Deputy Secretary

Source: www.persmin.nic.in 

[http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02rti/112013-ir.pdf]

Launching of Electronic Indian Postal Order — e'IPO'

Launching of Electronic Indian Postal Order - Dopt order

No. 1/44/2009-lR 
Government of India 
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions 
Department of Personnel & Training

North Block, New Delhi

Dated the 22th March, 2013

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject : Electronic Indian Postal Order — launching of.

On the initiative of Department of Personnel and Training, Department of Posts has launched a service called "elPO (Electronic Indian Postal Order) w.e.f. 22.03.2013. This is a facility to purchase an Indian Postal Order electronically by paying a fee on-line through e-Post Office Portal i.e. http://www.epostoffice.gov.in. It can also be accessed through India Post website www.indiapost.gov.in . As per RTI Rules, 2012, fees may be paid by electronic means, if facility for receiving fees through electronic means is available with the public authority.

2. At present, this facility is provided only for Indian Citizens abroad across the globe to facilitate them to seek information from the Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) under the RTI Act, 2005, Debit and Credit cards can be used to purchase elPO.

3. The user needs to get himself registered at the website. He has to select the Ministry/Department from whom he desires to seek the information under the RTI Act and the elPO so generated can be used to seek information from that Ministry/Department only. A printout of the elPO is required to be attached with the RTI application. If the RTI application is being filed electronically, elPO is required to be attached as an attachment.

4. It may be noted that this facility is only for purchasing an Indian Postal Order electronically. All the requirements for filing an RTI application as well as other provisions regarding eligibility, time limit, exemptions etc., as provided in the RTI Act, 2005 will continue to apply.

5. An elPO so generated must be used only once with an RTI application. To check any multiple use of the same elPO, the CPIOs shall maintain a record of the elPOs so received from Indian Citizens abroad. In case of any doubt, the details of elPO can be verified from the above mentioned site/portal of India Post.

sd/- 
(Sandeep Jain)

Deputy Secretary

Source: www.persmin.nic.in 
[http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02rti/1_44_2009-IR-22032013.pdf]

eIPO: Electronic Indian Postal Order for RTI Fee launched by Department of Posts

RTI: Department of Posts Launches e-IPO for Indian Citizens Abroad

Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications & IT, today in association with Department of Personnel and Training launched Electronic Indian Postal Order (eIPO) to enable Indian citizens abroad to pay RTI fee online. This is a facility to purchase an Indian Postal Order electronically by paying a fee on-line through e-Post Office Portal i.e. https://www.epostoffice.gov.in. It can also be accessed through India Post website www.indiapost.gov.in.

At present, this facility is available only for Indian Citizens abroad across the globe to facilitate them to seek information under the RTI Act, 2005. Both Debit and Credit Cards of any Bank powered by Visa/Master can be used for this purpose. All the requirements for filling an RTI application as well as other provisions regardingeligibility, time limit, exemptions etc; as provided in the RTI Act, 2005 will continue to apply.

The applicant needs to register on the website to create his/her profile for the first time. He has to select the Ministry/Department from whom he desires to seek information under the RTI Act and the eIPO so generated can be used to seek information from that Ministry/Department only. A printout of the eIPO is to be attached with the RTI application sent in hard copy. In case RTI application is filed electronically, eIPO is required to be attached as an attachment.

 CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Source : PIB Release, 22 March, 2013

How to write RTI applications effectively?

*Four golden rules for writing effective RTI Applications*

Dear fellow Activists,

We often sit down to draft an RTI application in an angry and unrealistic mood. When we write RTI applications, our focus should be on getting information. Instead, we are thinking about stopping some wrongdoings, getting some officials and corrupt contractors penalized, making the authorities “answerable” for negligence etc, etc. At such times, we fail to think clearly about the items of information that we need.

Right to Information Act 2005 is a law, and effectiveness in legal work depends on using the law without anger, resentment and wishful thinking.

While asking for information, the 4 golden rules are:

1. Point to various specific documents. Your application should look like a shopping-list of documents.

2. Name documents using words from Sec 2(f) and Sec 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act – reports, logbooks, emails, advices, rules, regulations, manuals etc. Only after exhausting these should you use other similar names e.g. quality audit reports, correspondence etc. In case this information is denied, the similarity of wordings will help you to convince appellate authorities that your requested information is “records” and “information” that must be mandatorily given.

3. Don’t ask questions, don’t demand explanations, and don’t make allegations.

Don’t make your application sound like a letter of complaint or a letter-to-the-editor. Don’t preface it with a covering letter or an introductory paragraph. RTI applications should be emotionless and bland.

4. Avoid vague expressions and requests such as

• What is the status of my complaint?
  What further action has been taken on my complaint/letter?
  Give me action-taken report.
  Words like “status” and “action” are open to interpretation, and usually fail to point towards any particular document; they can mean different things to different persons like applicant, PIO, APIO and appellate authorities. In most cases, there is no such document called “action-taken report” in existence, and therefore, the PIO cannot be rightly asked under RTI to generate such a document in reply to your application; PIO can only be asked to give you copy of a document that exists. The right way is to ask for signed and stamped copy of all correspondence till date in the matter of your complaint, including memos, emails, covering letters for forwarding your complaint etc. Ask for copy of logbook or any other book where details of your complaint are entered, marked to specific officers for their investigation and action. Ask for a copy of all their remarks, feedback, reports etc. If the case on your complaint is closed, ask for the closing remarks of the officer concerned.
• Give particulars of the project to build XYZ.
  What “particulars” do you want? Engineering drawings? Budgets? Financial projections? Feasibility reports? Consultants’ studies? This is not clear. Don’t leave it to the PIO to decide what documents to include and what to leave out. Be specific and name the documents that you want copied. Make it difficult for the PIO to loosely interpret your request.

Prepared by

Shri Sailesh Gandhi

Central Information Commissioner

(Circulated in the interest of the public giving them tips to frame good questions while submitting RTI Applications to get the information)

Courtesy : http://satish24k.blogspot.in/