Booking of complaints through website. Is it mandatory for PA under section 4 of RTI Act?

[DineshK 285]

In my recent RTI application I asked questions about a complaint system at PA's website which is non-operational since last one year.

 

In my application I have asked the date since the system not working, efforts made by department to rectify it and name of concerned department and officers responsible for the delay.

 

In reply to the application the PIO has just replied that "the link is not working" to all the questions. FAA too has supported the PIO and my appeal is now pending before CIC. I am expecting its hearing in this month.

 

I would like to know if it is mandatory for Public Authority to maintain a complain center/system at their website under section 4 of the RTI Act or any other rule?

[karira 5,893]

Under Sec 4, there is no such obligation.

However, the department must be having a Citizens Charter.

Does that say anything about a Complaint system, etc. ?

[DineshK 285]

The department already has the provision at website but the links are not working. Shouldn't they provide me info in case the links are not working?

[karira 5,893]

Can you please share your RTI application ?

 

Also read the definition of "record" in Sec 2(i) of the RTI Act. Pay special attention to 2(i)(d):

 

d) any other material produced by a computer or any other device;

 

A website can only be produced by a computer.

Therefore it is "record".

The definition of "information" includes "record".

[DineshK 285]

Here is copy of RTI application. While at Sl 2 PIO states that link is non operational he also states at point 7 that the site updating regularly.

 

The page also has some more important links but none of them are working.

rti.pdf

[karira 5,893]

Dinesh,

 

All your queries are "information".

PIO is just trying to stonewall.

You will get a good order from the CIC.

Just prepare and argue well.

 

Also see:

 

http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/7397-guidelines-government-websites-email-useage-management-government-offices.html

[Atul Patankar 536]

As reported by Utkarsh Anand at indianexpress.com on Apr 09, 2010

 

New Delhi : One submits a Right To Information (RTI) application to receive information. But for Dinesh Kaushik, it turned out to be a sort of role reversal when he ended up informing what even the Public Information Officer (PIO) did not know about his office.

The matter came up before the Central Information Commission (CIC) last week when Kaushik, a resident of Uttam Nagar, approached the panel against the Department of Information Technology of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

 

In November last year, he had filed an RTI application to obtain information about the online complaint registration at the MCD’s website.

 

He wanted to know, among other things, whether the complaint registration system was operational and how one could register grievances. Other queries related to the procedure to track the status of online complaints and details of the complaints received by the civic body on its website.

 

Furnishing point-wise replies, the PIO, Administrative Officer with the IT department, told Kaushik that the site for registering complaints was “not working” and its link was “non-operational”.

 

Therefore, as per the officer, questions pertaining to procedure of forwarding these complaints to the officials concerned were also “not applicable”.

 

The answer to Kaushik’s query as to what needed to be done if the complaint registration system was not functioning was —”This has been included in the E-Governance project.”

 

Dissatisfied with the replies and the first appellate body, Kaushik approached the CIC and claimed the information was not only incomplete, but wrong as well.

 

He produced two printouts to show that the online complaint registration system on the MCD’s website was functional and he had registered a complaint as well.

 

Kaushik produced the ID of the complaint registered by him regarding the problem of overflowing drains in his colony — the status of the complaint was shown as ‘pending’.

 

Surprised by the disclosure, the commission noted, “The PIO has given information that the complaint registration mechanism on the website is non-operational. The Appellant has shown that it is operational and he has registered a complaint today on the website and another complaint on July 29, 2009.”

 

Pulling up the PIO, the CIC said, “It appears that the PIO is not aware of the MCD website. The appellant has sought details of complaints received by the department in the last six months to which the PIO has stated that no data is available. This statement is obviously false since the appellant has been able to show that he is able to access data about his own complaint.”

 

The Commission asked the department to look into the matter and directed the Additional Deputy Commissioner (IT) to give the required information to Kaushik as soon as possible.

 

Source: RTI applicant gives MCD info about its ‘functional’ website

[Atul Patankar 536]

Great work, DineshK

[syed sumair 14]

Brave good work .