how to file RTI online and offline

RTI Act 2005 is an improved version of the Freedom of Information Act 2002. The act enables any Indian citizen to seek any required information from a state or central government office or department. The RTI Act mandates that the government responds to a citizen’s request for any such information in a timely manner. RTI can be viewed as one of the most powerful legislations in India that gives the citizens right to question any public authority and their activities. Whether you are concerned about the poor maintenance of roads in your area or the problems in water connection or cleanliness or the processing of pension, the RTI Act enables you to seek any information in the public domain. The RTI Act vouchsafes for the transparency in the working of every government department or office and accountability of every public authority’s work. Here we learn how to file an RTI.

RTI filing offline

Identify the department in which you wish to file an RTI plea and find out if it comes under the scope of the local authority, state or central government.

Write or type out the application either in Hindi or English or in the local language of the area. You can also request the Public Information Officer to write the application.

Address the application to the concerned state or central Public Information Officer and mention on ‘Seeking information under the RTI Act - 2005’ in the subject line.

Put the request in the form of a detailed and specific question mentioning the year or period the plea falls in. if required, one can also seek a document or its excerpt which will be charged at a nominal fee of Rs. 2 per page.

To file the request, pay Rs. 10 in cash or through bank draft or money order or court fee stamp. If the proof is produced, people living under the poverty line are exempted from paying the fee.

Mention your full name, address, contact details and email address and the name of the town and date.

You can send the application by mail or hand it over at the office personally. You need to keep a photocopy of the request and also receive an acknowledgement from the office.

As per the RTI Act mandate, the concerned office must respond to the request within 30 days. Further to this, the person making an RTI plea can also file an appeal to the ‘The Appellate Authority’ which must also respond within 30 days. You can also appeal to the Information Commission, the Chief Information Commissioner, and State/Central Information Commission.

RTI filing online

Visit the RTI website and click on ‘Submit Request’ button. Check the ‘I have read and understood the above guidelines’ option.

You will see the form asking you to fill in the necessary details. Select the department. Fill in your contact details.

You can type in the request in about 3,000 characters. You can also attach a PDF file that does not exceed 1 MB.

Pay the fee Rs. 10 vide net banking, credit or debit card.

You will get an acknowledgement with a registration number once the payment is done. It is also possible to make a request via email. You can visit the RTI page to check the status of the request.