Counterview: Ahmedabad: Saturday, 23 May 2026.
After years of persistent efforts by RTI activists and a citizen-led campaign, the Gujarat government has finally started connecting district and taluka-level offices of key departments to its online RTI portal. The development brings relief to thousands of citizens who previously faced significant hurdles in filing RTI applications for local bodies.
The movement for a
comprehensive online RTI portal in Gujarat began around 2016, when Rajkot-based
activist Shailendra Singh Jadeja took up the cause. He filed a Public Interest
Litigation (Writ Petition PIL No. 203/2018) before the Gujarat High Court. In
December 2021, the state government launched the portal. However, for nearly
four years, only 27 secretariat departments were mapped on it. Citizens seeking
information from district or taluka-level offices had to file physical
applications, a process filled with practical problems.
The RTI application fee in Gujarat is ₹20, but stamp paper of that denomination is now hard to find. Court fee stamps and revenue tickets are also not easily available. Small post offices rarely stock postal orders, and with the discontinuation of Registered AD services, citizens have been forced to use costlier Speed Post. These difficulties were repeatedly raised by citizens and RTI activists with the General Administration Department and the RTI Cell.
The turning point came in October 2025 when Alpeshkumar Dineshkumar Bhavsar, an Ahmedabad resident and member of the RTI Ekta Manch, filed an RTI application with the General Administration Department. The response revealed that despite repeated reminders from the RTI Cell since 2021, various departments had failed to map their district-level offices. Following this, Bhavsar submitted detailed representations on October 17, November 21, and December 10, 2025. When no satisfactory action was taken, he filed additional RTI applications on January 2, 2026, seeking information on the processing of his representations.
Subsequent RTI applications filed on March 6 and April 13, 2026, targeting the Panchayat, Urban Development, Revenue, and Home departments, finally yielded concrete results. The Urban Development Department reported that mapping of approximately 177 public authorities had been completed. This includes 7 municipal corporations and over 160 nagarpalikas (municipalities) across the state. A comprehensive list obtained through RTI responses covers major municipal corporations like Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Gandhinagar, as well as smaller town municipalities such as Amreli, Ankleshwar, Bharuch, Bhuj, Godhra, Himmatnagar, Morbi, Navsari, Porbandar, and many others.
The Home Department issued instructions to the Inspector General of Police to connect all Commissioner offices, ACP offices, and Superintendent of Police offices to the online portal. The Revenue Department confirmed that mapping is “in progress,” with collector offices having been mapped. The Panchayat Department has mapped some district and taluka panchayats, though complete information is still pending.
Internal government correspondence obtained through RTI shows that the General Administration Department had issued directives as early as September 2021. A later letter dated September 6, 2023, cited a Supreme Court order of March 20, 2023, which mandated full implementation of the online RTI web portal across the entire state within three months. On February 23, 2026, the Additional Secretary of the General Administration Department issued another reminder, directing all departments to expedite mapping and provide a certificate of completion within 15 days. The Urban Development Department responded on March 16, 2026, instructing all its sections to complete the mapping urgently.
Despite this progress, activists have flagged several technical issues with the portal that remain unresolved. The date on which a Public Information Officer uploads information or a response is not clearly mentioned, making it impossible for applicants to calculate the 30-day appeal deadline. When filing a first appeal within the statutory timeframe, the portal still insists on a mandatory “reason for delay” field. The names, designations, and contact numbers of PIOs and First Appellate Authorities are not visible on the portal. Printouts from the portal have extremely small, often unreadable fonts. These issues have led to first appeals being wrongly rejected, as happened with an Agriculture Department matter where the PIO’s response lacked a clear date.
According to the Gujarat State Information Commission’s annual report, the Revenue, Home, and Urban Development departments receive the highest number of RTI applications and appeals. Connecting their district and taluka-level offices will therefore benefit the largest number of citizens. The activists’ press note states that citizens will no longer need to visit offices in person or spend money on Speed Post, saving time, effort, and money while also reducing paper usage.
The successful campaign has been driven primarily by two individuals: Shailendra Singh Jadeja of Rajkot, who initiated the High Court petition, and Alpeshkumar Bhavsar of Ahmedabad, who methodically filed RTI applications and representations from October 2025 through April 2026. While the expansion of the portal represents a major victory for transparency, activists caution that without addressing the technical shortcomings, the digital initiative will not fully achieve its potential.
After years of persistent efforts by RTI activists and a citizen-led campaign, the Gujarat government has finally started connecting district and taluka-level offices of key departments to its online RTI portal. The development brings relief to thousands of citizens who previously faced significant hurdles in filing RTI applications for local bodies.
The RTI application fee in Gujarat is ₹20, but stamp paper of that denomination is now hard to find. Court fee stamps and revenue tickets are also not easily available. Small post offices rarely stock postal orders, and with the discontinuation of Registered AD services, citizens have been forced to use costlier Speed Post. These difficulties were repeatedly raised by citizens and RTI activists with the General Administration Department and the RTI Cell.
The turning point came in October 2025 when Alpeshkumar Dineshkumar Bhavsar, an Ahmedabad resident and member of the RTI Ekta Manch, filed an RTI application with the General Administration Department. The response revealed that despite repeated reminders from the RTI Cell since 2021, various departments had failed to map their district-level offices. Following this, Bhavsar submitted detailed representations on October 17, November 21, and December 10, 2025. When no satisfactory action was taken, he filed additional RTI applications on January 2, 2026, seeking information on the processing of his representations.
Subsequent RTI applications filed on March 6 and April 13, 2026, targeting the Panchayat, Urban Development, Revenue, and Home departments, finally yielded concrete results. The Urban Development Department reported that mapping of approximately 177 public authorities had been completed. This includes 7 municipal corporations and over 160 nagarpalikas (municipalities) across the state. A comprehensive list obtained through RTI responses covers major municipal corporations like Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Gandhinagar, as well as smaller town municipalities such as Amreli, Ankleshwar, Bharuch, Bhuj, Godhra, Himmatnagar, Morbi, Navsari, Porbandar, and many others.
The Home Department issued instructions to the Inspector General of Police to connect all Commissioner offices, ACP offices, and Superintendent of Police offices to the online portal. The Revenue Department confirmed that mapping is “in progress,” with collector offices having been mapped. The Panchayat Department has mapped some district and taluka panchayats, though complete information is still pending.
Internal government correspondence obtained through RTI shows that the General Administration Department had issued directives as early as September 2021. A later letter dated September 6, 2023, cited a Supreme Court order of March 20, 2023, which mandated full implementation of the online RTI web portal across the entire state within three months. On February 23, 2026, the Additional Secretary of the General Administration Department issued another reminder, directing all departments to expedite mapping and provide a certificate of completion within 15 days. The Urban Development Department responded on March 16, 2026, instructing all its sections to complete the mapping urgently.
Despite this progress, activists have flagged several technical issues with the portal that remain unresolved. The date on which a Public Information Officer uploads information or a response is not clearly mentioned, making it impossible for applicants to calculate the 30-day appeal deadline. When filing a first appeal within the statutory timeframe, the portal still insists on a mandatory “reason for delay” field. The names, designations, and contact numbers of PIOs and First Appellate Authorities are not visible on the portal. Printouts from the portal have extremely small, often unreadable fonts. These issues have led to first appeals being wrongly rejected, as happened with an Agriculture Department matter where the PIO’s response lacked a clear date.
According to the Gujarat State Information Commission’s annual report, the Revenue, Home, and Urban Development departments receive the highest number of RTI applications and appeals. Connecting their district and taluka-level offices will therefore benefit the largest number of citizens. The activists’ press note states that citizens will no longer need to visit offices in person or spend money on Speed Post, saving time, effort, and money while also reducing paper usage.
The successful campaign has been driven primarily by two individuals: Shailendra Singh Jadeja of Rajkot, who initiated the High Court petition, and Alpeshkumar Bhavsar of Ahmedabad, who methodically filed RTI applications and representations from October 2025 through April 2026. While the expansion of the portal represents a major victory for transparency, activists caution that without addressing the technical shortcomings, the digital initiative will not fully achieve its potential.
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