Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation RTI cell not user-friendly, claim activists

HUBBALLI: The RTI cell, opened at the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), is facing the wrath of RTI activists and public for allegedly denying information for one reason or the other. The silence of the HDMC commissioner on this issue has made some activists approach the higher authorities in Bengaluru.
Santosh Nargund, convenor of the Hubballi-Dharwad Pragati Sankalp Action Committee, said this RTI cell is anti-citizen.“Instead of helping implement the RTI Act, it’s systemically shooing away applicants. I sent my wife recently to submit seven applications. There were three persons in the cell and they didn’t accept the applications citing various reasons. They didn’t even listen to me when she connected us by phone. They called up some senior, who without listening to us, gave an address to which he wanted us to send the application. When we said they should give this in writing, they declined,” he said.
Ironically, the same application was accepted when Nargund went the next day and spoke to them.
Rajeev Varma, an intrapreneur, said, “I’d sent an application in an envelope labeled ‘RTI application’ two months ago. It was rejected by the HDMC. When I sent it again to the commissioner, there was no response. Are we in a democratic setup? If we send an email to the commissioner’s official id, we never get any response.”
Vivekanand Salins said his application was rejected as it was in English. “Despite my repeated attempts to convince them, they insisted I submit it only in Kannada. When I went with a Kannada application, they found said it not addressed to the right authority. Instead of helping public file applications, they’re discouraging us,” he said.
Some activists approached officials in departments like the municipal administration, DPAR-AR and state information commission. They’re also planning a protest.
When contacted, assistant commissioner SR Math, who is in-charge of the RTI cell, said, “If applications are in English or Hindi, we request them to file them in Kannada. If applications are not related to the HDMC, we suggest the applicants approach the department concerned. We have not rejected any applications sent by SpeedPost. We’ll streamline our process anyway.”
Official speaks:
I get hundreds of emails and it’s very difficult to check all of them. I’ve received many complaints from our personnel that some RTI activists harass them. I’m unaware that activists are being harassed by our personnel. I’ll take appropriate action against errant staff.