PTI
 
Patna, Dec 24: Bihar will soon become the first state in the country where people can gather information through Right to Information (RTI) Act by just making a phone call, an official in the office of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said.

The government has planned to set up a call centre where a person can ring in to seek the information required by him, officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, Chanchal Kumar, said.

The call centre will then write a formal application which would be forwarded to the concerned department through fax or internet and, on getting the information sought, would pass it on to the person, he said, adding it will cost the person just Rs 10 as call charge.

"This will be of immense help to people who don't know which department to approach for particular information and also to those who have to seek the help of others to draft an application," he said.

Apart from Hindi, English, Maithili and Bhojpuri, the people would be able to gather information in several other languages, he said.

Kumar said the requisite software has already been developed.

The government would soon make necessary amendments to the rules relating to RTI act to introduce the new system, he said, adding a public grievance cell is already in place in the state where people can register complaints and seek redress.