The Delhi government on Monday launched the Right to Information (RTI) portal. Applications can now be filed and tracked online, and payment can also be made on the portal.

The portal, www.rtionline.delhi.gov.in, was launched by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. It will help citizens file RTI applications as well as the first appeals in nearly 172 different departments and autonomous bodies of the NCT of Delhi, including the offices of the CM and the Cabinet ministers.

"This is a historic day for Delhi in particular and India in general. On this day, I remember how Anna Hazare ji and Aruna Roy ji worked for the RTI Act. They led the movement of the poorest, realising that information is power. Aruna Roy ji led the Hamara Paisa, Hamara Hisaab campaign for transparency," Kejriwal said on the occasion.

The CM said all RTI applications, along with the replies, will be uploaded, so that people don't have to file an application for the information that has already been provided in response to some other application.

"Everyone of us, even the poorest among us, pays taxes on which the government runs. From birth to death, we all pay taxes. When people pay tax, they have the right to know how their money is being spent by the government of the day. They have the right to know how their government is being run," Kejriwal said.

He further said, "The real RTI would be achieved the day the government starts putting up information important for the public in public domain. Transparency would stop corruption. The Delhi government would put up more and more information in the public domain."

"For example, if we start putting up sale and other registers of a ration shop in public domain, bungling can be curbed. This will also make beneficiaries powerful as they will be equipped with more information," the CM added.

Departments that take care of construction projects, such as the Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Irrigation, Flood Control, and so on will have to put up all details of all projects in the public domain.