RTI Act implementation costs worry police

[ganpat1956]

HYDERABAD: State police officers are concerned about the Right to Information Act, not because they have to part with information but over the `overheads' involved in it. Interacting with Director General of Police Swaranjit Sen during the valedictory programme of a workshop on `Importance of public relations', here on Wednesday, a couple of senior IPS officers raised the issue of `heavy' expenditure being incurred in providing information under the special Act. An officer observed that if a person would ask information spread over 1,000 pages, the department would have to spend at least Rs. 1,000 for getting photostat copies in addition to other materials and handling costs. Though the citizen would pay Rs. 2 per page of details sought, not a single paisa would go to the Police Department directly. Mr. Sen said the Government must ensure the time and money spent by the police officials in collecting the information were adequately compensated.

(Source: "The Hindu" online edition 14.12.2006)

[brijeshbhatt]

RTI is the only effective tool with common man to get information from Police
otherwise its a big harrasment. Hope the govt. will compensate police to facilitate use of RTI.