Transparency in Implementation of RTI Act through Web based System

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Transparency in Implementation of RTI Act through Web based System 

The enactment of Right to Information Act, 2005 has given an important right to the citizens to get information from any government organization as a matter of right. It is also a powerful tool to bring good governance. The Act is applicable throughout India. Any citizen can seek information, ask for certified copies of documents, inspect records, ask for sample of material etc. It has opened doors for transparency and accountability in the Government.  

            The implementation of the Act requires handling of a large number of applications by a large number of Central/State Public Information Officers who are the pivotal officers to implement the Act and adjudicate upon the RTI applications.  

           The applications received under the Act are required to be disposed of in a time bound manner ranging from 48 hours to 40 days depending upon nature of applications, failing which stringent penalty can be imposed up to Rs. 25000/-per application on the PIO (Public Information Officer). Thus there is an urgent need for monitoring the disposal of applications. 

 Need for adoption of new Innovation: 

Need of Monitoring and Analysis: Monitoring thousands of applications received by more than 1060 Public Information Officers of 122 Public Authorities designated by Delhi Government is a voluminous task. It calls for some innovation so that track of each application can be kept and status made available on real-time basis.          

            The citizens also need to be kept informed about the status of their applications so that they do not have to go to different Public Authorities to get this information.  This became the second requirement of the project.  

The next requirement was analysis of applications to find out weak spots in governance and to find out information requirement of people from different sectors so that information, which is sought, by large number of people can be put in public domain. The volume of work vis-à-vis the nature of work also calls for bringing a uniform pattern of disposal under the Act and automation of working could help that.  These five requirements were the main drivers for this innovation.          

Learning from Past Experiences:  Government of Delhi enacted Delhi Right to Information Act in October 2001, under which nearly 20,000 applications had been received. But it became a difficult task to seek statistical data from all departments/organisations, inspite of repeated reminders and personal persuasion for analytical purposes. The concerned officers could provide some statistics about number of applications received, disposed of and pending each month after a great deal of labour. 

In the absence of any dynamic system, there was no way for applicants to find the status of their respective applications. The Government too could not get timely data to analyze the type of information sought and it took lots of time to chase PIOs to get the basic statistics.  Submission of monthly statistics was made online, however, not all concerned officers submitted the data in time and hence there was always a delay involved. 

Thus a need was felt to have system where data could be made available on real time basis and analysis could be done automatically online without manual collection of data. 

Details of the new Practice: 

Design Features: With the enactment of RTI Act, 2005 the Government of Delhi decided to design a web-based system, on its own, with following features: 

Ø System where details of RTI applicants and details of information sought could be fed in the web-based system by the PIO.

Ø On entering the system, PIO would be able to see all pending applications, number of days left for providing information etc.

Ø Type of information sought by applicant could be fed in the system.

Ø Applications disposed of and pending applications would be visible for the PIO, Department and the Government as a whole.

Ø The amount of fee paid and manner in which it was paid could get reflected.

Ø System should generate letters to applicants for depositing fee if information is in the form of photocopies of documents or of sample of material.

Ø Access to system for PIOs could be made, based on User Id and Password.

Ø The details of information supplied could be fed in the system.

Ø System could be used for disseminating latest instruction to all PIOs quickly through their mailboxes provided under the system.

Ø System could also give details of appeals filed with the first appellate authority within the department and status report etc.

Ø System may also support 17 Manuals (types of information about departments) required to be mandatorily published by the departments under RTI Act 2005. 

Technology Used: Keeping these objectives in view, a web-based system was designed in house by using following technology: 

                       Front End – Browser based (Active Server Pages)

            Database – MS SQL Server 2000

            Address- http://delhigovt.nic.in/rti/default.asp           

Salient features of the System: The web-based system so designed and being used has following features: 

• It facilitates the departments to place all the 17 manuals for providing suo-motu information to the citizens as per requirement of section 4 of the RTI Act 2005.  The department, as per requirement, can edit the manuals. The software also enables attached and subordinate offices to upload part of their information.
•  It enables the PIO to do the following: -

a)    It provides a facility to the PIO to upload each and every application received by him/her.

b)     Issue letters to the applicant to deposit further fee where required.

c)  To send information to the applicants where information is being given wholly or partly. 

d)     To issue rejection letters under sections 8 & 9 if the information cannot be given.

e)     To issue notices to third party where applicants seek information about third parties.

·      It facilitates generation of letters on the basis of data uploaded at the preliminary   stage and does not require typing the same time and again. Letters are generated on the basis of predetermined formats to maintain uniformity.

·     It allows the citizens to keep track of their applications and to know the status as and when they feel like, on real time basis, on the basis of the I.D Numbers provided to them as part of acknowledgement.

·     It facilitates the administrative head of the department, PIOs and others concerned to monitor the applications and to find out the status of each application.

·   It enables the government to know statistical data, such as number of applications received/disposed/pending.

·   It enables analysis of applications to find out type of information sought, whether information sought related to personal grievances or community or policy issues. 

·      The main page indicates the list of pending applications both PIO wise and department wise. It also highlights the cases where applications have been delayed beyond the stipulated time frame and for this purpose different colour codes have been used. 

·       It enables the administrators to monitor the progress in exceptionally delayed cases as a self-generated letters can be sent by Secretary (Administrative Reforms) to the Heads of concerned departments highlighting the cases of exceptional delay.

·  The applications get sorted in a descending order indicating applications which are pending for more than 30 days; followed by the application which are pending for 21 of 30 days, pending between 11 to 20 days; and pending between 1 to 10 days beyond the stipulated period.

·       The applicants get the privilege of finding out information being asked by other citizens. This helps them in getting the information already disseminated without any need of making an application.

·   Once a critical mass of information sought is achieved, the most frequently sought information will be placed on the site under FAQ. 

Appeal cases: The system has been further extended to bring in first Appellate Authorities under it so that link can be established between original application, information provided, appeal filed and outcome of appeal.  

The number of appeals as percentage of applications disposed indicates dissatisfaction of people with the quality of information and hence this can be used to rate the performance of departments. The rating of departments will be used to rank them for closer scrutiny.  

Strategic Planning and Implementation           

Involvement of Stakeholders: The stakeholders in this case are

a)        The citizens who want to know the status of their applications. The citizens get latest information about the activities under the RTI Act.  Later when the system stabilizes, they should be able to file applications online to PIOs.

b)        The administrators who want to know the disposal and pendency position.

c)        The Appellate authorities who can watch the progress of each case and analyze the applications from different angles to issue directions to departments to bring improvement and transparency in their working. 

The PIOs and heads of departments were involved in this exercise but citizens were not directly involved.  However, their feedback during implementation of Delhi Right to Information during last four years was a valuable input in design of the system.   The planning was based on lessons learnt earlier and information need of different stakeholders. 

Transparency & Citizen Centricity: The Project has resulted in bringing in transparency about the working of various departments through providing suo-motu information through 17 manuals.   The 17 manuals are nothing but templates in which basic information about departments, norms followed by them for discharge of their functions etc. are to be disclosed. 

One of the criteria of design was to ensure quick and easy retrieval of information.  One has to select the department first and then the manual to see all the details. The project has resulted in transparency in working of departments as the departments are first required to publish public services rendered by them along with yardstick/norm for such service delivery and thereafter citizen question the departments for any deviation from the norm.  Also status of applications is available online. Thus, the project has been able to increase transparency and citizen centricity. 

Performance Measurement: The project has brought a lot of citizen’s satisfaction, as people do not have to go to different departments to get the basic information. They can find out lots of information on the website itself. Also they can find out the status of their application from the web site. It has resulted in lot of saving in terms of time and money.  The management has also been given a tool to monitor the progress of each and every application filed under the Act, and fix the responsibility for delay in disposal. 

This has quickened the process of disposal of work.  The system generates alerts in case of undue delay and helps the government in identification of government officials who persistently default in providing information. 

Human Resource Focus

Capacity & Skill Building: The software has been developed by the Information Technology Department with the domain knowledge provided by Administrative Reforms Department staff by utilizing the in-house available facilities.  The Act was studied with a view to find out the requirement that need to be incorporated in the new project and a road map was prepared identifying the areas where the administrators, citizens and the end users would require information. 

The users were provided extensive training to handle the online system. Also online and telephonic support is made available. 

Change Management: Various requirements under the Act reflected need for creating a database and forms with regard to supply of information, rejection of request, requirement of further fee, maintenance of statistics, issue of notices etc. to make it citizen friendly.  Necessary IDs and passwords were issued to the PIOs for uploading of Manuals and for on-line submission of data with regard to each application. 

Training Programmes were organized both for officers and staff required to implement new Act.  Hands-on training was also provided in different batches.  The staff was also encouraged to bring forth their problems so that these could be removed and the system improved.  Online help and user manuals were developed and provided to staff members. 

Delegation & Promotion of Teamwork: The PIOs were designated as per provisions of the Act and they enjoy the statutory powers under the Act.  As such no further delegation was required.  However, training programmes were organized for them about the provisions of the Act and how to implement the same.  

The Project was initiated not only for development of the software but also for the implementation of Right to Information Act.  The rigorous provision of the penalty available in the Act serves as a great deterrent and compels the officers and staff to follow the procedures laid down under the Act and implementation of the new project.    A common Secretary heading both the IT department and AR department came handy in building up team and executing the project. 

Process Management: 

Process Standardization:  The various forms required under the Act right from submission of the application to generation of replies through the computer systems were developed for simplifying the processes and for standardization of work.   A manual of operation of system has also been developed and placed on the web site. 

The past experience of the Delhi Government in handling the DRTI served as a useful tool in the development of the software.  The shortcomings faced during the implementation of the Delhi Act were analyzed to find new ways to tackle them and they were incorporated in the new system. The processes under the Act are standardized and the online system has enabled us to force the same standard system across the government. 

Process of Documentation: The administration manual, the user manual and the technical manual were developed along with the development of application software.  Team, which developed the application software, was also made responsible for this job. The user manual is available online. 

Study of Best Practices: Since the project was first of its kind, we did not have any models to follow.  However, experience gained while developing and running web-based applications like Tender Notice Information System (TNIS) for Delhi Government was used a lot. Experience of Delhi RTI’s system of web-based monthly report also came handy. 

Other Features

• The entire development process was based on excellent feedback system. The experience of four years of implementation and feedback of officers was used in a big way in designing the system.
• It is a small size project where resource allocation to different functionaries was not very important.  For time-bound development of the software, different people were given different responsibilities.
• By dividing the project amongst clearly demarcated entities, the administration was able to save resources apart from overheads and avoidable administrative work. 

Lessons Learnt & Positive outcome: 

Performance and Results 

• Database of over two lakhs applications is available on the web site.
• Researchers can use the information without approaching any organisation.
• Performance of 1010 PIOs and 121 Public Authorities can be monitored on line.
• 24X7 availability of information: The project has helped people in getting information on 24X7 basis.  The citizens cannot only get the forms on the website but can also apply through e-mail. 
• 17 Manuals: They can get the list of PIOs and APIOs from this website for filing applications hassle-free. Availability of 17 manuals under RTI in a user-friendly manner has provided lots of information about departments and their working which were not available earlier in public domain. It has also resulted in lot of savings of time and energy of officers and officials as they will no more be required to type out the basic data time and again as these are available in the database, once the application has been uploaded.  The officers have the benefit of monitoring the work and getting the status of each application from anywhere at any time.
• Search on Information Sought: With introduction of search facility one can now use key words to see requests for information already submitted with various PIOs. This will reduce need to ask a question which has already been asked by someone else.
• Status of Application: Status of applications is available online and thus they do not need to visit the PIO for ascertaining the status.
• Application Tracking by PIOs has ensured that they do not miss out on the deadline fixed under the Act.
• Analysis of information sought is available department wise as well as nature of request wise. 

 Improvements:

v  Provisions are being made to submit applications online and send the fee by post in the form of a banker’s cheque or draft.  In view of the fact that application fee is very small (Rs.10 per application), payment gateways are not interested.  Once payment gateway facilities are also provided online filing of applications in real sense can start on the lines of Government of India.

v  Topic wise listing of questions asked and information supplied has been prepared with a google search so that common people can search information already sought under this Act. This will also help researchers working in this field to do analysis of information requirement of people.

v  Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) and SMS interface is being made available so that those who do not have access to Internet can also find status of their application.  

Financial Implications: Since it was developed in house by using our own manpower and resources the cost was nil. 

Scope of replication: The scheme can be replicated not only by the Public Authorities but also by all the State Governments/ Union Territories without much cost to boost the morale of its employees and officers. 

FAQs