The Telangana government remains ambiguous about the exact date on which the much-awaited online Right to Information (RTI) portal will go live, according to an RTI response.
Kareem Ansari, an activist associated with youRTI.in, filed an application seeking details such as training programmes that are in progress or are likely to be embarked upon, and the likely date that the portal would go live so as to be accessible to the public.
As was reported in these columns, Telangana’s online RTI portal went live recently, albeit quietly and without any official announcement. But, soon after the development was reported, a pop-up appeared on the website, and directed users not to use the portal given that training programmes for officials concerned were in progress.
In response to a request seeking information on the likely date of the portal being made available to the public, an RTI response dated September 1 stated that it would be “as per testing and seamless application performance”. When Mr.Ansari sought information about the training programmes in progress and further programmes, if any, the response that came was “as per approval of competent authority”.
Quoting the reference number of a previous correspondence pertaining to the successful completion of a pilot project, the activist sought to know the reasons behind the delay. The response was “No such information is available with the department”.
As of Sunday, the www.rti.telangana.gov.in portal displays the following message: Please refrain from using the website for RTI applications during this training phase. Your cooperation is appreciated, and traditional application methods are recommended. Online services will resume after training. Thank you for your understanding and engagement in improving the RTI experience.
Meanwhile, the the Telangana State Information Commission continues to remain headless with the State government yet to appoint information commissioners. The Commission is dealing with a backlog of over 9,000 cases, causing a wave of concern among RTI activists and those seeking information about a host of subjects connected to several departments of the government.
