Filing Right to Information (RTI) applications in Gujarat has become significantly easier as the state's online RTI portal has finally been extended to local civic bodies, collectorates, and police commissionerates. Moving beyond the offices of various departments located in the Gandhinagar secretariat, citizens can now file applications and first appeals digitally up to the taluka and village levels.
RTI Activist Welcomes Expansion
RTI activist Alpesh Bhavsar, who had been following up the issue with the general administration department and various other departments which receive a majority of RTI applications, said, "RTI applicants up to the village level can now file applications, make payments, and even file first appeals online. We were demanding this from the government since last October. Now, almost all government offices up to the taluka level will be covered by the online portal. Citizens will no longer have to visit these offices to file an application or spend money on Speed Post."
Background of the Portal
Bhavsar said that a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the high court on the issue in 2018. In December 2021, the portal onlinerti.gujarat.gov.in was formally launched. "Until 2025, only 27 departments were mapped on the portal. It covered only those offices located in the Sachivalaya," Bhavsar explained.
Since October 2025, Bhavsar made 10 representations to the General Administration Department (GAD) and other departments, after which most district-level offices of departments have now got mapped. "It is in the interest of the Digital India movement to make RTI application services online, as paperless services will also reduce environmental damage," he added.
Relief for Citizens
Pankti Jog, executive secretary of Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, said that the development has brought a big relief to RTI applicants and citizens. She noted that applicants previously had to visit post offices to avail speed post activity. "People up to the block-level can now file RTI applications online. We expect that since the process has now been made less cumbersome, more and more people will be able to file RTI applications," she said.
The expansion of the online RTI portal is a significant step towards transparency and ease of access, aligning with the Digital India initiative. Citizens across Gujarat, from urban centers to remote villages, can now exercise their right to information without the burden of physical visits or postal expenses.
