CIC to launch helpline to guide applicants

Himanshi Dhawan, TNN, Dec 13, 2010,

NEW DELHI: Confused about how to draft a Right to Information (RTI) appeal or curious to know the status of your application? The answer will soon be just a call away. The Central Information Commission (CIC) will launch a helpline to guide RTI applicants on filing their appeals and tracking their applications. The helpline -- that will be supported by a call centre -- is likely to begin next week.

"Citizens can already track their applications on the internet. Now this service will be available on the phone. They will also be guided on how to file an appeal and given information regarding the format and other details. We are just finalising the details and the helpline should be set up by next week," chief information commissioner A N Tiwari said.

Initially, there will be six independent telephone lines for citizens. The CIC will eventually get 1800 as the helpline number.

The commission is also working towards adopting a digital work regime which will be in place from March 2011. The transparency panel has directed officials to prepare a timeline for making modifications in the current workflow module of the commission regarding paperless transaction of the quasi-judicial activity.

As a first step, all complaints and appeals received by the central registry will be converted into a digital form by scanning them. They will be sent electronically to the registries of respective information commissioners and will be disposed of in a similar manner by them.

A paperless office is already functioning under information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi and the commission hopes to replicate the pilot project with other commissioners.

At present, appeals and complaints are segregated according to information commissioners' office and sent to them in paper form. Keeping a record of such large number of applications is a time taking and cumbersome process which delays the delivery of these complaints and appeals to concerned information commissioners.

The committee of information commissioners M L Sharma and Shailesh Gandhi had submitted their report about working of central registry in which they had said there were adequate staff but suggested that it required revamping in terms of infrastructure, redoing of signage and provision of power backup.