Times
of India: Ranchi: Sunday, 24 January 2016.
The state
information commission (SCI) is planning to revamp its portal and introduce
e-RTI facility by the end of next month.
Apart from
the facility to file RTI through an integrated online payment gateway, the
revamped portal, being developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), will
also have an archive of old judgments of the commission for ease of
petitioners.
"The
direction to revamp the old site was given by the chief information
commissioner in Jharkhand last October and the work for the same is on. The new
website will have an archive of old judgments numbering around 4,000. We have
been scanning the documents as well as training two persons to handle the new
website in tandem," said state information commissioner Himanshu Shekhar
Chaudhary.
SIC is also
conducting workshops to create awareness on RTI among general public and public
information officers. So far, workshops have been organised in Dumka, Chaibasa,
Deoghar and Godda with few more districts in pipeline.
"Considering
the nature of RTIs being filed in the commission, we have found a need to
create awareness among the petitioners as well as sensitise the PIOs about the
process of filing and replying to an RTI. The tool is an important asset in the
hands of the common man to check corruption and SCI intends to promote its
usage by creating awareness about the same," Chaudhary said.
The SIC is
currently hearing 90 cases almost everyday in its three courtrooms to clear the
backlog of pending cases. The new website is also expected to reduce this
backlog and give speedy access to clause list, current status and latest orders
to the petitioners.
"Though
the development of new website has been going on for quite some time now, the
online payment facility, if incorporated, will prove to be a huge relief to
prospective RTI applicants in the state. It also remains to be seen if all the
departments would be covered under the ambit of e-RTI facility in addition to
secretariat," said Sunil Mahto, RTI activist and advocate, high court.