RTI fees — online payment failing on Bihar state portal

Yes — there's both a workaround and a structural complaint worth filing.

Immediate workaround: 1. File the same RTI by registered post directly to the PIO of the relevant Bihar department. Attach an Indian Postal Order (IPO) of ₹10 in favour of the PIO/Accounts Officer of that office (look up exact payee on the dept's §4 page). 2. RTI Rules don't mandate online filing — IPO/postal route is perfectly valid.

Structural complaint: 3. Simultaneously file an RTI to Bihar Information Commission + General Administration Department, GoB asking: (a) why payment gateway is non-functional, (b) reasonable alternative payment mode being offered, (c) number of failed transactions in last 6 months.

Detailed guide on RTI fee payment modes by state: https://righttoinformation.wiki/rti-fees-payment-modes-india IPO purchase + RTI filing walkthrough: https://righttoinformation.wiki/how-to-file-rti-by-post

Chapter 2 of The RTI Playbook covers filing channels in detail.

Bihar portal has been broken on and off for 8 months. Postal is honestly the more reliable route here. ₹10 IPO from any post office, takes 5 minutes.

Pro tip — keep a 'speed post receipt' on hand for the postal RTI. If the PIO later claims 'not received', the speed post tracking is proof of delivery.

Yes — there's both a workaround and a structural complaint worth filing.

Immediate workaround: 1. File the same RTI by registered post directly to the PIO of the relevant Bihar department. Attach an Indian Postal Order (IPO) of ₹10 in favour of the PIO/Accounts Officer of that office (look up exact payee on the dept's §4 page). 2. RTI Rules don't mandate online filing — IPO/postal route is perfectly valid.

Structural complaint: 3. Simultaneously file an RTI to Bihar Information Commission + General Administration Department, GoB asking: (a) why payment gateway is non-functional, (b) reasonable alternative payment mode being offered, (c) number of failed transactions in last 6 months.

Detailed guide on RTI fee payment modes by state: https://righttoinformation.wiki/rti-fees-payment-modes-india IPO purchase + RTI filing walkthrough: https://righttoinformation.wiki/how-to-file-rti-by-post

Chapter 2 of The RTI Playbook covers filing channels in detail.

Bihar portal has been broken on and off for 8 months. Postal is honestly the more reliable route here. ₹10 IPO from any post office, takes 5 minutes.

Pro tip — keep a 'speed post receipt' on hand for the postal RTI. If the PIO later claims 'not received', the speed post tracking is proof of delivery.