Right to Information Call Center Opened in Bihar

During the inauguration of the government information call center 'Jankari', Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Monday in Patna, said the Rights to Information was a powerful weapon against any government irregularity and empowered ordinary citizens to keep the public representatives on their toes while maintaining a complete transparency in the system."The new call center will be able to review public requests and forward them to the appropriate government departments," Kumar said adding those who try to suppress or hide relevant information from the public would be dealt with sternly."When making a request for any information, the caller will have to reveal his or her real name, address and the department or office from which he/she is expecting to get the information. The call center will then record the data, read it back to the caller, give a case number to the request and then forward the data to the concerned department," the Chief Minister said."If the request is not processed within 35 days or the answer is not to the satisfaction of the caller, he or she will have the right to appeal," Kumar said.The Jankari call center is the only such facility in the entire nation, the Chief Minister added.