The right to Information Act came into existence on 12th October 2005. After some reminders of the Judiciary, this Act was made operational in Bihar in June 2006 after framing of Rules etc. It came late in Bihar but it came with a bang. The bang was the innovative use of Information and Communication Technology for RTI Act.
Bihar is at the lowest level of development among states of Bihar. It has the lowest literacy rate. In this scenario, it is not easy for the larger populace to reap the benefits of revolutionary Right to Information Act. Many a time it has been felt that even writing simple application is beyond the capability of some individual. Even if he can write, he may not be aware about whom to address. The Government functioning is under veil of secrecy. The decision making process of the government is not easily comprehensible. In such a scenario “Jankaari” the ICT based RTI facilitaion centre comes handy. It is first of its kind in India. The Government of Bihar has collaborated with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited for this purpose. The general number 155311 can be dialled to reach “Jaankari”. The call can be made either from the residential telephone or from PCOs. In first case Rs. 10/- would be charged in the bill each time. While dialling from PCO the required card has to be purchased for paying the fee. The operator then gathers information from the caller and ask few questions and a RTI application to the concerned official is generated. You can know the status of your application subsequently by dialling the “Jaankari”. You can even appeal through them.
We may hope that this political will to unshackle the realm of governance to general public in Bihar would help in bringing Bihar up from the Abyss.
The functioning of “Jaankari” can be viewed from this Youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq3H5i6bkmk
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