This is a very responsible way to use RTI for the public good. The only thing now left for AM to do is follow up this matter through to the bitter end - and ensure that no other citizen faces similar problems.
"4(1) Every public authority shall (a) maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated;" What he needs now is a remedial order from CIC to enforce this. --- In [email protected], Avinash Murkute <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Sending text of news: > > > NET GAIN: RTI plea exposes technical glitch in I-T department > > REPORTER > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Pune, Jan 15, 2008 > > Thanks to the Right to information (RTI) applications filed with the Income Tax (I-T) offices in Pune and Patna, the technical lacunae in the regional and the national server systems of the department came to light. > > Avinash Murkute, a city-based business development manager, had to undergo a Herculean task to get his tax refund from the I-T office at Pune. > > Murkute had filed his I-T return with the Pune office on September 27, 2006. He then visited the office on April 18 and July 12 in 2007 to enquire about the tax refund. > > In July 2007, he wrote his query to the I-T commissioner, which was replied by Prachi Kakade, deputy commissioner, Pune. Based on the reply, he filed an RTI application with the Pune I-T office on October 24, 2007. > > In the reply to the application, the department claimed that it had sent the Permanent Account Number (PAN) migration request to the Patna I-T office, where Murkute registered his PAN while working there. > > After this development Murkute filed another RTI application with the Patna income tax office on November 20, 2007 to enquire about the PAN migration request. "The Patna I-T office got in touch with me and the Pune office after receiving the RTI application regarding the I-T refund. It then manually downloaded the request from the national server and after processing directed the Pune office to issue a cheque of Rs. 720 to me, " Murkute said adding, "Both offices realized that the automated request for PAN migration was not being addressed for want of synchronization between the national and regional servers." However, Murkute finally got his I-T refund on December 4, 2007. > > When The Herald contacted Kakade, she said, "I don't have technical information about the server as the national servers are operated from Delhi office." > > WHAT IS PAN MIGRATION? > > If one's PAN card is registered in Mumbai but he files his I-T returns at Pune, then the Pune office sends an automated request to the Mumbai office for PAN migration. This automated request from Pune regional server reaches Mumbai regional server via national server. After that the Mumbai office directs the Pune office to issue the cheque of refundable amount. > > > > --------------------------------- > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
