Citizens to access reserved info, courtesy RTI at KMC
Mohammed Safi Shamsi

Kolkata, February 23: A week after the appointment of the information officer in compliance with the RTI Act, queries and applications are pouring in at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s newly-formed RTI cell.

The civic body has already received 16 applications from citizens seeking information on various civic issues. Most of these applications are concerned with assessment and the buildings departments.

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Pashupati Barik, deputy municipal commissioner (personnel), now the state public information officer, KMC, told Newsline that a civic RTI cell is already in place. “As of now there are five officials to coordinate the process of receiving applications and disseminating information to the applicant,” Barik told Newsline.

While the KMC is ready to oblige the applicant, as per the instructions of the information act, the bureaucracy is still undecided on the information that is to be guarded as ‘secret’. “The issues that cannot be made public will be discussed shortly,” Barik said.

Citizens interested in obtaining information on civic issues can now apply to the information officer: “The queries can be written on plain paper with a Rs 10 court stamp pasted on the application,” said a civic official. Officials said that attempts will be made to ensure that the applicants receive the information within 30 days from the date of filing the query. The implementation of RTI at KMC is expected to help more citizens gain access to information which had been reserved till date.

Published in Kolkata Newsline, Indian Express, 24th February 2007