CALL THE RTI ACT HELPLINE 080-666-00-999
Update, December 2007:The Helpline disseminated information to over 6000 citizens.After one year's functioning, it is now closed, due to poor response. We plan to use the same funds in a decentralised manner, funding local RTI activists. The first such funding wef March 2008 is to Kabir, an NGO engaged in spreading awareness of the RTI Act, in Delhi. We are funding the salary of one employee, who will answer queries on the RTI Act and application process, and will also work with people to help them through the application and follow up.He is available on 0-97181-00180, 10 a.m - 8 p.m and can answer queries in Hindi and English.
The Manjunath Shanmugam Trust launched a National Right To Information Act Helpline on
19th November 2006 - Manjunath's first death anniversary. The Helpline is launched with
a vision to improve governance in Indian public life. The vision of the Helpline is to
disseminate RTI Act knowledge nationally and empower the common man to seek accountability
in public administration.
The MST wishes to support Government’s initiative in passing this Act, by ensuring that the
benefit reaches the common man. The helpline will be serviced by a professionally trained
call centre team from Sparsh BPO services, operating in three languages initially - English,
Hindi and Tamil. The helpline will operate from 8.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m., 7 days a week. MST
expects to reach out to around 20,000 people/month through this facility, which is further
scalable if needed.
The Right To Information (RTI) Act
The RTI Act was introduced by Parliament in the year 2005. The Act enables the people to
question the government, inspect their files, take copies of govt. documents, inspect
government works, take sample of material from govt. work.
All you have to do is file an application. The cost of the application is Rs.10 and free
for people below the poverty line. The reply should be within 30 days after which a penalty
of Rs.250 per day is deducted from the salary of the concerned officer. The Act has powerful
provisions such as:
- No need to specify reason for seeking information or other personal details
- Provision to reduce oral requests into writing
- Provision to provide all required assistance, including to sensorily disabled persons
- Information to be provided in local languages
- Provision for damages
FAQ
FAQs are being compiled and will be put up shortly.