Soon, you won't have to run after BMC for information under RTI

DNA: Mumbai: Thursday, May 02, 2013.

Civic chief forms panel for transparency in corporation's functioning.

Looking to get information from the civic body? You may soon need to file fewer RTI applications and not wait for long for their answers.

In a major overhaul aimed at reducing the number of RTI applications and improving the transparency and accountability within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte has formed a technical advisory committee (TAC) with prominent RTI activists. dna had reported about activists meeting Kunte to ensure that the Act is implemented in its true spirit.

Bhaskar Prabhu of the Mahiti Adhikar Manch, which took the initiative of forming the TAC, said, “Soon, we will go to citizens to ask them what information they need so that it can be made part of voluntary disclosure.”

“We have formed a TAC of some prominent RTI activists, including Shailesh Gandhi. The success of the Act and transparency depends on how good we are at voluntarily disclosing information. We are as it is moving towards e-office and wanted to see how best we can be RTI-compliant,” said Kunte.

“The TAC should start working from May. It will guide us on what we can disclose voluntarily.”

According to Kunte, the deputy municipal commissioner of the general administration department along with other civic officers will coordinate with the RTI activists.

Gandhi, former central information commissioner and a TAC member, said, “A lot of information that citizens want, they won’t have to ask for anymore. The corporation will give it suo motu, which will lead to more transparency. Once things are in the open, an officer will be more alert. He will have citizens looking at his work and even his commissioner won’t have to call for files and can comment straight away.”

The TAC will also help the civic body in putting up information citizens need, like decisions taken by the corporation, the work manual under which officers work, why a decision was taken and work orders, on BMC’s website or notice board. It will also help the corporation train officers on RTI.

“There are a lot of bottlenecks when it comes to giving information. Sometimes, officers don’t give a proper reply to an application. The idea is to resolve that,” said Prabhu.

Gandhi said, “Any organisation, irrespective of how good it is, can’t see things how others can.

With the performance of RTI, it is the same. An external force can always suggest better ways to do the job. There is tremendous scope to bring down applications and we should be able to do a good job of it.”