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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Blank RTI forms too come for a price-Yagnesh Mehta

Blank RTI forms too come for a price-Yagnesh Mehta

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published Published on Apr 11, 2012   modified Modified on Apr 11, 2012

If the daily haggling to get work done at Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has left you frustrated, here is another shocker.

An application under Right to Information (RTI) by a citizen Kanubhai Shah has revealed that SMC charges much more than any other civic body for even blank forms, that too more than its actual printing cost.

Sample this: An unemployed person wanting to apply for job in SMC needs to buy a blank form for Rs 25. If he is not selected and wants to reapply, he will have to shell out Rs 25 again. Surprisingly, blank forms in English cost Rs 50, much more than those in native language.

SMC sells 102 types of forms at costs ranging between Rs 5 and Rs 200. An application to set up an indoor stadium costs Rs 1,000. To compare the cost of blank forms of SMC with other municipal corporations, Shah again used RTI. From Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Junagadh municipal corporations, Shah found that the charges are between Rs 2 and Rs 5 for different forms.

"Majority of the forms are of one page, whose actual cost is less than Re 1. Then why SMC is charging extra money for blank forms. I tried inquiring from the authorities, but failed to get answer even under RTI," Shah said.

Moreover, unlike other municipal corporations, SMC does not accept handwritten applications, thereby forcing everyone to purchase the forms.

When contacted, SMC's deputy municipal commissioner (special) Pradipsinh Jhala said, "I have no idea about the charges fixation of blank forms."

Deputy commissioner (finance) S N Mehta said, "It (charges) were decided by the particular department considering the requirements. It was also approved by the elected body." Mehta, however, could not explain the reason behind the higher prices for blank forms.

The Times of India, 11 April, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Blank-RTI-forms-too-come-for-a-price/articleshow/12616769.cms


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