My first experience in using RTI

I was so inspired by Mr.Shailesh Gandhi's movement to weed out corruption in the government system and decided to use RTI act for checking the status of my Income Tax refund.

I used the act today for the first time in life.I prepared an application on the name of CPIO of the concerned income tax office and as I was not too sure about the payments and delivery in time,I decided to use the post office option available for central govt RTI application submissions.

I visited Mumbai GPO with my application and met the PA to PRO there who was supposed to be the nodal officer accepting RTI applications.When I asked him about the method of payment of Rs 10 as RTI fee by cash,he insisted that I should purchase a Indian Postal Order and attach it to the application.He said ,he was not too sure whether the income tax office will oblige the payment if you just pay at the counter and attach the receipt as a proof.

He also said that the Rs 10 paid at post office counter will be going to Dept of posts and then why Income tax dept should consider that as Fee for RTI .

So I went to the IPO (indian Postal Order ) counter and purchased the IPO for Rs 10 by paying additional Rs 2 as postal commission.I did not know whom to address the same hence I made a postal order on the name of "Accounts officer,Income Tax department,Thane".

Also after all this when I again went to submit the same to that gentleman at PRO office,he again made me run to take one more zerox of my application "for his records".I already had two copies of my application anyway (one for submission and one for my own records as acknowledgement ).But just for "his records" I was forced to make one more copy!

He also said that "APIO" s at Post office will not forward any application to "concerned department" on their own in case the correct full address of concerned CPIO is not mentioned.

Now I have some doubts in my mind for the same.:

1.Can't I pay by cash at Post office and it will be considered as RTI fee no matter which department I am submitting the application?Isn't my fee going anyway to Central Govt?

2.Is it necessary to submit one more copy of the application for "office records" of Indian Posts if we are using the post office route?Whose responsibility it is to make such a office copy?

3.Isn't it the post office's responsibility to find and forward the application to the concerned office across the country even if the applicant does not know the exact person and the address of the concerned CPIO office?