Special counters for RTI stamps to be set up at post offices
19 Sep, 2013
The Department of Post is said to be gearing up for a change over to facilitate the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The steps include issuing of RTI stamps in the denomination of Rs. 10 and setting up of special counters for receiving applications under the transparency act. The changes will be made in all the 1.5 lakh post offices across the country as per the guidelines issued by the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on the complaints of an information seeker.
According to unconfirmed sources, the CIC had asked the central government to instruct all the information officers to accept postal orders, demand drafts and banker’s cheques payable to accounts officers. Also, the applications are not to be rejected on flimsy grounds.
It has been claimed that a department incurs huge expenses (Rs 22/- towards bank charges and commission) to encash a postal orders worth Rs 10/-. The postal department is said to be prepared to impart adequate training to its staff for better handling of the RTI applications.