We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose. Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Winner India being one of the largest democracies in the world, the trepidation for violation of fundamental rights of its citizens always looms. Accustomed with this fact, the Government of India has always put emphasis on making the life of its citizens easy, smooth and move ahead in making India truly democratic with secular judgments. Keeping this in mind, the Right To Information (RTI) Act has been established which confers the authority to enjoy fundamental rights by each and every Indian Citizen under Article 19 (1) of the constitution. RTI empowers every citizen to seek justice and raise voice against any corrupt Government body at the click of the mouse. It bestows the right to access to information held by a Public Authority and in case, anyone have been denied the access to information he/she may file Appeal / Complaint before the Central Information Commission (CIC) using the CIC Online.
Central Information Commission Online acts as single point source of information for all registered Complaints and Appeals. For its outstanding performance in understanding the need of the hour in delivering not only honest decisions but also rendering speedy decisions, the CIC online (http://rti.india.gov.in) bagged “Award of Excellence” in Project Category G2G/G2C by the Computer Society of India in the CSI Annual Convention held on October 9, 2009 in Pune. CIC Online has been conferred the CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards 2008-09 for its unique e-Governance initiative in terms of Filing RTI complaint and Appeals Online. The project has been widely acclaimed for successful implementation and enhancement it brought while filing petitions online.
Filing of RTI Complaint and Appeal Online with the CIC has institutionalized the convergence of ICT with the Indian Right to Information Act, 2005. The established provisions of the RTI Act, 2005 regards for a practical regime wherein the citizens can have secure access to information, which have been under the control of Public Authorities (PA) so as to promote transparency and accountability in the matters concerning with and working of the Public Authorities, the Central Information Commission and the State Information Commissions.
In order to facilitate those citizens who files appeal and complaints before the Commission; two simple user friendly online forms have been designed in congruence with the RTI Act. Whereas on the other hand an internal workflow system has also been designed, developed and implemented within CIC, which ensures proper monitoring of the entire activities during disposal of a case since its filing. Hence CIC Online is certainly a process of Public Participation which aims at the improvements in the core governance of a public institution. e-Governance has given new dimensions to the system of governing nations and enhancing citizen services by making the process of governance and public administration much more efficient and effective. e-Government reveals the ultimate vision for public administrations and governments to undergo a huge modernization and reorganization. e-Governance has also played an essential role in improving governmental processes (e-administration), connecting citizens (e-citizens and e-services) and building external interactions (e-society). In this step, National Portal has been taking number of initiatives to provide one stop solution efficiently by integrating public services from a citizen's point of view. Contributed by: D. P. Misra, NIC