With over 4.16 lakh applications received under the Right to Information (RTI), Maharashtra has become the first state to receive four lakh plus queries under RTI, more than the number in countries like Britain and Mexico.
With over 4.16 lakh applications received under the Right to Information (RTI), Maharashtra has become the first state to receive four lakh plus queries under RTI, more than the number in countries like Britain and Mexico.
"Maharashtra received 4,16,090 applications under RTI last year, whereas in Britain 60,000 queries and in Mexico 94,000 queries were filed under the RTI," a report released by the State Information Commission said.
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The state implemented the Act from October 2005 before the Centre promulgated it. The Act became so popular that the state got 1,23,000 queries in 2006, and the number went to 3,16,000 in 2007, the report said.
Elaborating on the applications received by various state government departments, the report quoted the department of Urban Development has received the highest number of questions (1,04,766) followed by Revenue Department (70,419) Home Department (45,363) and the least applications in Forest Department (9,676). The government replied to 3,97,662 applications last year.
The government has also collected Rs 76.67 lakh as the application fee. No fee is charged for applicants below poverty line, it said.
Apart from applications, number of writs, admitted by the commission, were 14,928, out of which it sorted out 12,844. The complaints received were 2,538 and other applications were 23,838 in number last year.
With the immense response to RTI, the commission has suggested to appoint more officers to reply the query within the stipulated 30 days. The government has also sanctioned a grant of Rs 3.5 lakh to the commission for the awareness about the Act.
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