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RTI stamps become necessity with public-authorities going cashless

Kashmir Times. Dated: 8/9/2019 12:47:22 AM

Dear Editor,
With public-authorities going totally cashless, many of them like at National Green Tribunal (NGT) have even stopped accepting RTI fees of just rupees ten in cash, asking RTI applicants to enclose postal-orders of rupees ten as RTI fees. Many post-offices like at Baroda House (New Delhi) do not sell postal-orders. Others even including Head Post Office at Parliament Street (New Delhi) restrict sale of postal-orders by 4 pm even though these big post-offices work till late in the evening. Even otherwise handling cost of a postal-order of value rupees ten costs postal-department about rupees fifty with cost of handling of postal-orders by a public-authority and bank-clearing even extra. Most public-authorities require postal-orders in different names even though DoPT in its various circulars has required postal-orders towards RTI payments to be in name of Accounts-Officer only.
Only and best remedy to overcome situation is to accept frequent CIC-verdicts and administrative-request of CIC by postal-department to issue special RTI stamps (like earlier stamps for payment of licence-fees of radios and TV sets in denominations of rupees 2, 10 and 50 which will save crores of rupees annually to public-exchequers in using postal-orders as mode of payment of RTI fees.
Till such time, all public-authorities should be directed to accept cash as RTI fees with postal-orders in denominations of rupees ten to be compulsorily available at all post-offices to be sold till closing-hours of concerned post-offices.
—Subhash Chandra Agrawal,
1775 Kucha Lattushah
Dariba, Chandni Chowk Delhi.