RTI information to go mobile, speed up data access
Reported by timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 28 July 2012
RTI information to go mobile, speed up data access - The Times of India

CHENNAI: If things go according to plan, theState Information Commission (SIC) will soon allow RTI applicants in the city to track cases on their mobile phones.
The service will allow RTI petitioners to view the status of their applications.
State Chief Information Commissioner K S Sripati said that the commission is working to provide case details by SMS facility to RTI applicants and the system should be up and running in a couple of months. "People who file complaints before the SIC will receive an SMS stating their case number and the date of hearing of their case," said Sripati

Activists said the system could help do away with long delays in securing data from public information officers. The SIC decided to introduce the SMS system due to an increasing number of appeals being filed before the commission because of public information officers delayed responses to queries filed under the RTI Act.

According to the plan, every RTI petitioner will receive three SMS. "We will send applicants the first SMS when the case number is generated," Sripati said. "The second message will be sent after the case is posted for hearing and the third when the case is disposed."

The petitioner will also be able to track the RTI application by the case number. "Applicants can also use case numbers to get information and learn the status of the case on the SIC website (www.tnsic.gov.in)," he said. "Details such as the petitioner's and respondent's names, case number and address will be available on the website," Sripati said.

The commission plans to use a designated SMS service number for the system. "We have had initial discussions with Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot), National Informatics Centre ( NIC) and mobile service providers like BSNL to develop the software and integrate the messaging service," Sripati said.

The commission now sends notices to applicants by post. Officials said the messaging service will be made available to applicants who provide their cellphone numbers in RTI applications.

Activist V Gopalakrishnan said the messaging service could put an end to many shortcomings in the system.

Officials said a huge shortage of manpower and funds has hampered work at the commission.

Officials said the commission has just 63 employees against a sanctioned strength of 82. Drivers and peons are forced to double as stenographers. The commission received 56,000 RTI petitions in 2011.