Eight RTI Templates You Can Copy, Adapt and File This Afternoon

“The difference between a useful reply and a useless one is about four words. Ask for the noting sheet, not for the reason.”

• On what these templates are really doing

Most RTI applications fail on wording rather than on substance. People ask why something happened, or what the department intends to do, and both of those can be lawfully declined because the Act gives access to records that are held rather than to answers composed on request.

These templates are all built the same way. They are numbered, they name a period, they name the documents wanted, they ask for certified copies, and they confine themselves to one subject. Adapt the details in square brackets and leave the structure alone, because the structure is what makes them work.

File on the Karnataka RTI portal for state bodies and the central portal for central ones, with a fee commonly set at ten rupees and a statutory reply period of thirty days. Our general guide covers the mechanics and the appeals in full.

Template One: My Application Has Been Sitting for Months

Use this for a Khata transfer, a certificate, a licence, a connection, any application of your own that has stopped moving. It is the most reliably effective RTI a citizen can file.

• Opening. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information in respect of my application bearing reference number [number] dated [date] submitted to [office].
• 1. The date on which the said application was received in your office.
• 2. The current status and stage of the said application as on the date of this request.
• 3. The name and designation of every officer who has held the said file, with the dates on which it was received by and forwarded from each.
• 4. Certified copies of the complete file relating to the said application, including all noting sheets and internal correspondence.
• 5. The reason for the delay in disposal, as recorded on the file.
• 6. The prescribed time limit for disposal of such applications, and a copy of the circular or rule prescribing it.
• Closing. I request certified copies. The prescribed fee of [amount] has been paid.

“Point three is the one that moves files. Naming every officer who has held it makes the delay attributable to a person rather than to the system.”

• On why this template works

Template Two: The Work Was Funded but Never Done

For a road, a drain, a footpath, a park, a streetlight installation, any sanctioned public work that does not match what exists on the ground.

• Opening. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information in respect of works carried out or sanctioned at [location, road name, ward] during the period [from date] to [to date].
• 1. Certified copies of all sanction orders for works at the said location during the said period, with the sanctioned amount for each.
• 2. Certified copies of the tender documents and work orders issued for the said works, including the name of the contractor awarded.
• 3. Certified copies of the measurement book entries recorded for the said works.
• 4. Certified copies of the completion certificates issued, with the dates and the names and designations of the certifying officers.
• 5. Details of all payments released against the said works, with dates and amounts.
• 6. Certified copies of any quality inspection or third party verification reports relating to the said works.
• 7. Details of any penalties imposed on the contractor in respect of the said works.

Template Three: My Complaint Was Closed Without Anything Happening

For a civic complaint marked resolved when it plainly was not. File the complaint first and get a number, since this template depends on having one.

• Opening. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information in respect of complaint number [number] dated [date] regarding [subject] at [location].
• 1. The date on which the said complaint was received and the name and designation of the officer to whom it was assigned.
• 2. Certified copy of the action taken report in respect of the said complaint.
• 3. The date and time of any site visit carried out pursuant to the said complaint, and the name and designation of the officer who conducted it.
• 4. The grounds on which the said complaint was recorded as closed or resolved, as recorded on the file.
• 5. The prescribed time limit for disposal of complaints of this category, and a copy of the circular prescribing it.
• 6. The number of complaints of the same category received in respect of [location or ward] during the period [from] to [to], and the number recorded as resolved.

Template Four: The Garbage Contract for My Ward

For any contracted service where the delivery does not match the obligation. Garbage collection is the common case, but the same shape works for sweeping, drain cleaning or park maintenance.

• Opening. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information in respect of solid waste management services in ward number [number], [ward name], for the period [from] to [to].
• 1. Certified copy of the contract or agreement currently in force for the said services in the said ward, including the scope of work and the prescribed frequency of collection.
• 2. The name of the contractor or agency and the period of the contract.
• 3. Details of payments made to the said contractor during the said period.
• 4. The number of complaints received in respect of the said services in the said ward during the said period.
• 5. Details of any penalties imposed on the said contractor during the said period, with the grounds for each.
• 6. Certified copies of any monitoring or supervision reports on the said contractor's performance during the said period.

Template Five: The Water or Sewerage Connection

For a pending connection, a disputed bill or a recurring sewage problem. Addressed to the water board rather than the corporation.

• Opening. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information in respect of [application number or consumer number] relating to premises at [address].
• 1. Certified copy of the complete file relating to the said application or connection, including all noting sheets.
• 2. Certified copy of the feasibility report prepared in respect of the said application, if any.
• 3. The current status of the said application and the recorded reason for its pendency.
• 4. Where the reason relates to network capacity, the plan and timeline approved for augmentation of supply in the said area.
• 5. For billing matters, the meter reading records for the said connection for the period [from] to [to], and the basis of assessment applied.
• 6. Certified copies of any inspection reports relating to the said premises during the said period.

Template Six: The Property or Land Record

For a property whose records you need to understand, whether for a purchase, a dispute or a stalled mutation. Be careful here, since third party personal information can attract an exemption.

• Opening. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information in respect of property bearing [survey number, Khata number or PID] situated at [address].
• 1. Certified copy of the Khata extract and the current Khata register entry in respect of the said property.
• 2. Certified copies of all mutation entries recorded in respect of the said property during the period [from] to [to].
• 3. The property tax assessment and payment record in respect of the said property for the said period.
• 4. Certified copies of any plan sanction or building licence issued in respect of the said property.
• 5. Details of any notice issued or proceeding initiated in respect of the said property during the said period.
• A note of caution. Where the property is not yours, some of this may be refused as third party personal information. Where the request relates to your own property or to a property you are in the process of acquiring with a documented interest, say so in the application.

Template Seven: What Is the Rule, Actually?

The most underused RTI of all. Departments frequently apply rules that are not published anywhere, and asking for the rule is both simple and revealing.

• Opening. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information in respect of [subject or process].
• 1. Certified copies of all circulars, orders, guidelines and office memoranda currently in force governing [the process], issued during or prior to the period [from] to [to].
• 2. The prescribed time limit for disposal of [the process], and a copy of the instrument prescribing it.
• 3. The prescribed fee for [the process] and a copy of the instrument prescribing it.
• 4. The list of documents prescribed as mandatory for [the process], and a copy of the instrument prescribing that list.
• 5. The designation of the officer competent to decide [the process].
• Why this one is useful. When an office demands a document nobody else has heard of, or quotes a fee that does not appear anywhere, this application produces either the authority for it or the absence of one. Both answers are useful.

“Asking what the rule is, in writing, is often enough on its own. Rules that cannot be produced have a way of stopping being applied.”

• On template seven

Template Eight: The First Appeal

For when the thirty days pass with nothing, or when what arrives is incomplete or evasive. File within thirty days, to the First Appellate Authority of the same public authority.

• Opening. First appeal under Section 19(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, against the response, or absence of response, to my application dated [date] bearing registration number [number].
• 1. State the facts. I filed the said application on [date]. The prescribed period of thirty days expired on [date]. No response has been received to date. Or: a response dated [date] was received, a copy of which is annexed.
• 2. State the grievance, point by point. In respect of point [number] of my application, no information has been furnished. In respect of point [number], the information furnished is incomplete in that [state briefly what is missing].
• 3. Address any refusal. The refusal in respect of point [number] does not specify the provision of Section 8 relied upon, nor how it applies to the information sought.
• 4. State the relief sought. I request that the Public Information Officer be directed to furnish the information sought in full, and that certified copies be provided.
• Keep it short and factual. An appeal is decided on whether the Act was complied with. Dates, what was asked, what arrived, what is missing. Nothing else helps.
• If this fails. A second appeal lies to the Karnataka Information Commission within ninety days, and the Commission can order disclosure and impose penalties on the officer.

The Four Rules Behind Every Template Here

• Ask for documents, never for reasons. The Act gives records that exist. The moment you ask why, you have given the officer a lawful route to decline.
• Number everything. A numbered application forces a numbered reply and makes an incomplete answer visible at a glance, which is what an appeal then rests on.
• Name a period. Between two dates. It bounds the request, defeats a disproportionate burden argument, and stops you receiving the wrong year.
• One subject per application. Two subjects invite a partial answer. Two applications cost twenty rupees and run two thirty day clocks at the same time.

This guide is general information and not legal advice. These templates are starting points to adapt, not legal drafting, and the application of exemptions is decided case by case. Verify current fees and procedures on the official portals, and take legal advice where a matter is significant. Same city, new stories, always.

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