Under the Right to Information Act 2005,
every Indian citizen has full right to demand any information from the government
if he/she desires to do so.
For example: a citizen can demand information regarding delay in his passports from the Government.
The Government, as per the RTI 2005, is liable to provide the information demanded to the citizen. If the government authority from which information is demanded fails to do so, the government authority will be penalized.
There are certain matters which are state oriented such as construction of a road, problems with irrigation or street light issues. In such case, an RTI application will be filed with the state authorities.
However, if your matter relates to the departments which are related to the Centre, then the RTI must be filed with the central government. In case you fail to submit your RTI Application to the Public Information Officer, you can approach the Central Information Commission. Read further to know how to file an RTI with the Central Government Departments.
Filing an RTI to a Central Government Department and approaching the Central Information Commission
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- Central Government Department Identification
The first step to file an RTI with a department of the central government would be to identify from which department the information has to be obtained. For instance, anything related to income tax should go to Income Tax department or defense related query should go to Ministry of Defense.
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- Writing the Application Properly
The next step would be writing your RTI application in the prescribed format.
to know the format. Also, this format isn’t mandatory and you can submit your application on a plain paper as well. The language of the application can be Hindi or English. Similarly, the government can also respond in either language.
You can check the Rules for filing an RTI with Central Government Departments
Make sure that the questions you ask relate to only one subject; the application has a chance of rejection if you ask more than one questions in a single RTI Application. For instance, if you are enquiring about your passports, then ask questions which are only related to the passports.
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- Make Payment of Fees
As you might know, there is some amount charged for each RTI you file. Thus, to file an application to a central government department, attach application fee of Rs. 10/- in the form of Indian Postal Order.
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- Send Application
Once all the above mentioned steps are completed, send your RTI application via speed post/registered post and wait for the government’s response. If you don’t get a reply within 30 days of sending the application, you can approach the central information commission.
Here’s a bit more detailed process
about the same.
About the Central Information Commission:
The Central Information Commission is a government body which has been established to address the grievances of the people who have not been able to submit an RTI Application due to the following reasons:
- There is no State Public Information Officer or Central Public Information Officer appointed
- Either of the officers (PIO) have refused to take the RTI Application
You can write to them about your concerns at the below mentioned address.
Write to them at Central Information Commission Address:
Following is the address of the Central Information Commission
Central Information Commission
125-126, Africa Ave, Bhikaji Cama Place,
RK Puram, New Delhi,
Delhi 110022
How to file RTI to Central Government Departments Online
You can file your RTI application by visiting
rtionline.gov.in.
To know how to file the RTI online for central government departments,
However, it is possible that you find the process too complicated, in such a scenario you can use our website
OnlineRTI.com
to file an RTI Application in 10 minutes.
Simply click the Apply Now option and fill up the simple form in plain English and submit and complete the 3 step process. We will then give you a call and understand your query in detail and you can relax.
Our team of RTI experts
will draft the application, take care of all the format, translations and legalities and submit the application to the concerned authorities alongwith the necessary attachments as well.
You can also
track the entire process
on our portal to know the status of your query.
We guarantee your application will reach the authorities with no chances of rejection. All you need to do is fill up a simple form and we will take care of the rest!
