An RTI Applicant’s 49 RTI Applications, Filed on Maharashtra’s Online Portal, Failed and He Is Not Alone

Vinita Deshmukh 14 May 2025

Public Interest

In what can be termed as the height of bureaucratic apathy, veteran journalist and RTI activist Dr Shahid Raza Burney has slammed Maharashtra’s Maha IT department and the general administration department (GAD) for a massive failure in the processing of his 49 Right to Information (RTI) applications that he filed online through the official portal https://rtionline.maharashtra.gov.in/.

Despite paying the mandatory Rs10 fee per application, all 49 RTIs failed to get registered, although the fees were deducted from his bank account.

Mr Burney, a seasoned journalist, has taken this serious issue up with various government officials but has received a cold response. Citing dereliction of duty, serious lapses in governance, and failure to act despite multiple complaints and follow-ups, he says, “This is not just an administrative failure; it is a betrayal of the public trust. Citizens are being charged for services that are not being delivered.”

He rues that he received a reply from Sapna Kapoor, state informatics officer (SIO) of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Mantralaya, who asked him to knock at the bank’s door. Says he, “She acknowledged that while 7 payments were successful and RTI numbers were generated, 49 payment attempts failed with no confirmation from the bank. Kapoor suggested reconciling the issue with my banker and follow-up with the concerned departments. However, payments were made and substantiated through bank statements, copies of which I have submitted repeatedly.”

Mr Burney also raised concerns over the extra charges levied by the Maha IT department which is Rs15.90 for RTI applications and Rs25.90 for first appeals, as against the officially stated Rs10 and Rs15, respectively. "No other state or the central government charges these inflated fees. Is this not digital extortion?” he questioned.

He alleged that desk 6 of the GAD, responsible for RTI processing, has become sluggish and indifferent, with officials 'counting their days to retirement' instead of performing their duties. Further, Ajay Gadiya, COO of Maha IT, passed the buck to the National Informatics Centre (NIC). In a letter to him, Mr Burney rued in his letter to Mr Gadiya that “during my first appeal hearing, neither the PIO nor your team even understood the RTI Act. It was a mockery of the system.”

Expressing deep frustration over lost time, money and effort, Mr Burney is considering taking legal recourse by moving the Bombay High Court or escalating the issue to the prime minister’s grievance cell. “This is a classic case of citizens being cheated under the garb of digital governance,” he said.

However, he is not alone. Well-known RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar rued that “the RTI online websites of most of the state governments are not functioning, thus betraying citizens of their right to invoke the law, for information. The digital push tom-tommed by the government is mere hogwash. Most shockingly, the DoPT website which is the authority to ensure the smooth implementation of the sunshine law also has a poor record of delivering information when RTIs are filed online on its website.”

Mr Kumbhar further added that “other problems besides RTI applications not being registered despite payments having been successful; include the OTP coming after an hour in case you want to see the status of your RTI application, thus making the exercise redundant. As for the Maharashtra government website (not only for RTI), there are hurdles to download any GRs if you have an Android phone. This general apathy shows that the governments, whether at the centre of state, are keen to weaken the RTI.”

The following are the tweets of RTI users who have faced problems:

I had a login in the RTI portal which does not work any more. I got an email to view the status of my RTI which I filed last month. But I am unable to. Been waiting for the wretched OTP for nearly 36 hours. Samuel Becket are you listening? pic.twitter.com/WHAohpMyg6
— Rajendran Narayanan (@rajendran_naray) May 7, 2025

I was unable to complete my RTI submission due to issues with the RTI Online Portal (https://t.co/r55lFS4tKz). The website is not functioning properly. Requesting @DoPTGoI to resolve this at the earliest. #RTI #Transparency #DoPT @MIB_India
— R.S.Karikala cholan,Rti Activist. (@NCPofTN) March 10, 2025

RTI under Modi Govt has totally collapsed,Now No OTP is being Generated to see the Status of RTI application filed or View History of earlier RTIs filed,I think this is being done deliberately to frustrate the RTI users & ultimately kill the RTI act @rashtrapatibhvn @DoPTGoI… pic.twitter.com/IIuKItM4II
— AJAY BOSE (@AjayBos93388306) May 5, 2025

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) — the so-called custodian of the RTI Act — has brazenly violated the very law it’s meant to uphold. My RTI on “The UPSC Files,” involving serious complaints against 22 civil service officers, was tossed around by UPSC and ultimately… pic.twitter.com/UhHvXmFiVg
— Vijay Kumbhar (@VijayKumbhar62) May 12, 2025

@rtiindia @MIB_India @pib_india @doptsecretary @dopt @narendramodi @PMOIndia @ianuragthakur

The web portal #RTIOnline is not workng proprly. It is being ignord, sidelind, dilutd & evn gettng killd with a purpose & plan. It's bcoming difficult to access & file any RTI reqsts.
— Suraksha Society (@SurakshaWelfare) May 9, 2025

(Vinita Deshmukh is consulting editor of Moneylife. She is also the convener of the Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She is the recipient of prestigious awards like the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting, which she won twice in 1998 and 2005 and the Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding media person for her investigation series on Dow Chemicals. She co-authored the book "To The Last Bullet - The Inspiring Story of A Braveheart - Ashok Kamte" with Vinita Kamte and is the author of "The Mighty Fall".)

Comments

User

Meenal Mamdani

2 months ago

These information officers ignore these complaints because they know that this matter is not important to their superiors and so they are unlikely yo be reprimanded for their deliberate failure to process the request.

Is there a way to make them and their bosses publicly accountable for dereliction of duty?

Would an announcement in the local paper announcing their sloth and perhaps deliberate refusal to provide information make embarrass these officials?
Not only the person but also their friends and relatives will see the advt and raise questions about their honesty, thus providing an incentive to better service.