‘New change in RTI portal makes viewing status of query complicated’

A new change of making entry of one-time password received through e-mail mandatory in the RTI portal by the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, has complicated viewing of the status of RTI queries. V. Ramkumar, a railway union leader, said he did not receive the OTP after attempting to view the status of his RTI request for more than 24 hours Mr. Ramkumar, who is the assistant divisional secretary of Southern Railway Mazdoor Union here, said earlier the applicant had to enter data like registration number and mail ID to view the status. Purpose defeated Mr. Ramkumar said the new change amounted to suppressing the interest of the citizens who were submitting request through RTI Act – 2005. “But, the present changes made in the RTI portal will defeat the very purpose of getting information from the public authorities,” he said in a letter seeking the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.