RTI applicant refused answer by BBMP, gets a rude reaction instead

A city-based activist had enquired about the guidelines for choosing ward committee members with the RTI. BBMP's reply through RTI was rude and unacceptable as there was no direct answer to the query. Activist Kathyayini Chamaraj had also enquired about list of applicants, their qualifications, years of social service and the relative merit ranking for selecting them.

The RTI reply by BBMP came as a rude shock for an RTI applicant, a city-based civic advocate, when she asked about the guidelines for choosing ward committee members. The BBMP, instead of answering the query, asked her to check the website for herself.

Another query that was placed by the same applicant-Kathyayini Chamaraj (executive trustee at CIVIC)- related to the “list of applicants, their qualifications, years of social service and the relative merit ranking for selecting them,”  met with a similar reaction. To this, the BBMP said that the applicant should rather contact the nodal officer of every ward and get the information.

Sharing her RTI experience on Facebook, Kathyayini Chamaraj, said, "...the reply provided by the BBMP Council Secretary’s office to the questions show that no application of mind has gone into it.”

Incidentally, out of 500 citizens who had applied to be part of the ward committees, only five have been selected. This has lead to a lot of unrest among citizens.