Kerala takes RTI a step forward

all information pertaining to cases filed in Kerala under Right to Information (rti) law and decisions taken therein can be accessed online from December.

The Centre for Public Policy Research, a think tank, is working on streamlining and digitalizing this information under its digital rti mission. The information will be put on a wikipedia site (www.digitalrtimission.com) and will contain details about the act, petitions filed and cases disposed.

The site will help in quick redressal of grievances, said Shreeja Chandran, project coordinator of the mission. It will reduce duplication of questions, an excuse often used by government to slow down disposal of petitions. Petitioners can refer to this site to see whether their queries have been answered in the past and then file their petition accordingly, she added.

rti activist Arvind Kejriwal said the mission is a good initiative but the problem was that most people do not have internet access. He said alternatives should be offered to people.

In the first phase of the mission, the non-profit will digitalise and upload information collected from public information officers and state information commission on the website. In the second stage starting August 2010, the non-profit will tie up with mobile service providers so that rti related information can be accessed via the phone.