Mumbai: After almost four years of launching the online Right To Information application facility on the website, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has failed to expand the facility to other wards from the two wards included in the pilot project. As the municipal corporation still lacks any plan to expand the facility for other wards, citizens and activists alleged discriminatory service by the corporation accusing it of killing transparency.

However, when The Free Press Journal contacted Kishor Gandhi, deputy municipal commissioner of BMC’s general administration department, the official said to be unaware about the present situation of the online RTI process. He was also ignorant about any plans to expand the facility to other wards in future.

In a bid to ease the process to seek information for the citizens, the BMC started an online RTI application form on its website in 2021 including only two wards as a part of their user acceptance test. Under the pilot project, citizens could seek information related to the K/West and M/West wards through an online form available on the corporation’s website. A citizen can fill all the requested details including public authority details, applicant’s personal information, pay the fees online as well as upload documents if necessary.

After Suyog Khude, a resident of Chandivali, had filed a public grievance to the Prime Minister’s Office on February 21, 2021 about online RTI applications with the BMC, the municipal corporation replied to the complainant saying that the user acceptance test has proved successful. In a letter dated September 26, 2021, BMC’s general administration department had disclosed their plan to implement the online RTI process in the K/West and M/West ward on experimental basis, whereas it will be later implemented in all the departments.

According to their claim, the BMC started the online RTI process for two wards but however, the online process is still restricted to only two wards even after three years. The online form still allows citizens to only seek information related to the K/West and M/West wards whereas other wards have never been updated as claimed by the BMC.

Clarence Pinto, member of Voice of Kalina ALM, which has been involved in raising citizens’ issues and exposing corruption in the BMC with the help of RTI, said, “Information is the only source of exposing corruption and online RTI provision can actually expedite the process. We purchase court fee stamps in bulk but a person who is not a regular applicant will find it difficult to find a stamp. The online process does not require a stamp and then the application process is just as simple as sending an e-mail.”

In September, the Supreme Court had issued notices to several states and union territories seeking response in a contempt petition alleging non-compliance to have online RTI portals. Maharashtra, having already set up an online RTI portal, was not sent a notice but however the country’s oldest and richest municipal corporation still lacks a complete setup to let citizens seek information under the act through an online mode.

Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder of Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association, said, “They are killing transparency and don’t want to be held accountable so that they can go around with their willfullness. They know that citizens are not going to go all the way to the ward office to seek information on a weekday by leaving their own work aside. They don’t want to be questioned by the citizens and therefore don’t want citizens to be well-informed. They are suppressing the RTI act by restricting its accessibility to the larger mass.”

The Maharashtra government has included various government departments, authorities and municipal corporations in the state government’s Online RTI portal. While the state portal includes 19 municipal corporations including Ahmednagar, Dhule, Latur, Mira Bhayandar, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Vasai-Virar to name a few, it does not include BMC in the facility.

Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, an RTI activist, said that the delay in extending the online RTI provision to other wards shows that BMC does not want to be transparent in revealing information for public interest. However, he said that the online system also becomes a hindrance in seeking information effectively as the applicant is not provided with enough proof of having filed an application.

“I have tried seeking information from the state government under RTI through their online portal but I never received the information sought by me. I paid money through my debit card but I did not receive enough substance of proof. If applicants are allowed to download an acknowledgement copy, it will work as a proof that they have filed an application. Unless such provisions are included, it will only seem to be a pro-active measure but will not work in public interest,” added Pimenta.