Damn’d

Was recently doing some research on ‘How to file an RTI application’.

I was vaguely aware of the RTI Act and how it had been enacted to bring about transparency and efficiency within our government machinery, etc etc..

Its been almost 5 years since the act has been in force so I thought it would be a breeze for me to file an application…online !!

But no, our great government, with all its great intentions has still not developed a system where you can file an application online.You gotta do it the old fashioned way…’write down the application on a piece of paper and send it off to the Post office along with a fee of Rs 10′.

Can you imagine how many people do NOT file an application because of the ‘physical hassle’…

How difficult is it to have a system which could allow you to file an application online ?

But wait, maybe its by design and in order to discourage ‘frivolous’ applications (It will be easier to file online so more ppl will file applications which means more work for our babus)… Who knows ?

While the Act is great in spirit, it needs to be accessible much more easily (i.e for starters, the ability to file an application online)

Any takers for building such a system ? More importantly, if a private entrepreneur were to attempt building something, would the government allow it to flourish or throw a wrench in the works ??

Guess the only way to find out is to try and build something like that

Here is a good place to find what has been happening wrt to the Act since 2005. Somebody call Vishal has been religiously updating the blog

And its not all bad too.. Here is a list of some of the success stories…