Know your rights: Maharashtra RTS Act explained at Mumbai first event

It was Wednesday afternoon and nearly full at the MMRDA auditorium in Bandra Kurla Complex BKC A session on the Maharashtra Right to Services Act RTS was held by Mumbai First under its knowledge and civic awareness initiative called lsquoMumbai HappeningsrsquoThe session was about empowering citizens with knowledge of their rights under the RTS Act and give them access to timely government services The online address is httpsaaplesarkarmahaonlinegovinenCommonFormViewAllServicesThe troika of panellists at the event were Manu Kumar Srivastava Baldev Singh and Dilip Shinde all IAS Retd and the moderator was Sanjay Ubale Executive Board Member of Mumbai FirstSrivastava said first up that it was heartening to see ldquoSo many people in the audience on a working day that too for a drab subject like Right to Servicesrdquo That earned him a few laughs He pointed out that the ldquoRight to Information RTI is much better known than the RTS Act There is not much known about the latter We need to create much more awareness about RTS The RTI had its genesis in 2005 while the RTS was born in 2015rdquo A key highlight of the programme was the live demonstration of the application process for government services under the RTS Act led by Dilip Shinde Through slides Shinde explained how people could go online and access the government portal how to apply for services track application status and escalate grievances in case of delaysBaldev Singh said ldquoFor citizens who are unable to access the portal online the government has established 39783 Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendras service centres where one can avail of the servicesrdquoThere was an interactive session where people had a lot of questions about portal accessibility and navigation A lady in the audience said she had difficulty in getting her daughters domicile certificate through RTS herself and finally had to pay an agent R500 for the same and get it done To a question about how the younger generation can gain awareness about RTS and how it can appeal to younger persons Srivastava announced that they have ldquosuggested to the State Govt that the RTS Act should be included in the Std IX and Std X syllabusrdquo to audience applauseFinally there were numerous people who said they faced a lot of difficulty on the online platform uploading documents etc and panellists overall shared that the platform is ldquobeing made more accessible with a mobilefriendly version and a dedicated app currently under developmentrdquoThere was one telling question with an audience member asking how one could ensure anonymity through this Act as people are afraid to complain The agent said ldquoThey tell us we are scared to complain and reveal our names why dont you complain on our behalfrdquo A pointer that people still fear lsquorepercussionsrsquo when asking for answersservices from those in authority The attendance and interaction showed that people were eager and enthused about availing of the services through this route yet there is need for improvement and several gaps remain to be filledatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params