The
Times of India: Chennai: Monday, November 19, 2012.
The Tamil
Nadu Information Commission will soon check the websites of all government
departments to see if they contain updated information. It hopes to reduce the
number of petitions filed under the Right To Information Act by ensuring that
all departments make their records accessible to the public and that they post
all new information online.
State chief
information commissioner K S Sripathi told TOI that several government
departments do not update their websites even though the RTI Act has been in
force for the past seven years. Under Section 4 of the act, records of
government departments have to be computerised and posted on their websites.
"If all departments upload information on their websites regularly, people
would not need to file RTI pleas to access records," Sripathi said.
"Most appeals are filed because government departments have failed to post
new information on their websites."
The
commission will conduct regular reviews of government websites. "We will
conduct reviews to ensure government websites update information and contact
numbers of officials from whom they can seek additional data," he said.
Sources said
the commission will instruct the municipal administration and water supply,
public works, revenue, transport, religious endowments and information,
finance, home, labour and employment, education and tourism departments and
others to provide information on their websites.
The
commission is also working to reduce pendency of appeals from three months to one
month. "There has been an improvement in the disposal rate of appeals. We
are working to reduce appeal pendency to one month," Sripathi said.
Many RTI
activists welcomed the initiative, noting that most government websites are not
updated. "Most departments don't bother to post information on their
websites," said executive director of NGO Fifth Pillar K Bhanu Kumar.
Officials of
some departments said it would be a massive task to upload all the information.
A corporation official said: "It will be a big job to scan all the records
and upload them. Most departments are unable to update their websites because
they face a staff shortage."
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