LESSON NOTES

Business Correspondence

Subject Code: 53D

Year: III
Semester: V
Unit: V

Syllabus
Letters under Right to Information (RTI) Act

General complaints and petitions for public utilities

Letters to the editor of newspapers

Other general aspects related to practical letter writing

 UNIT V
PROPOSED POINTS FOR DISCUSSION ON IMPORTANT RTI PROVISION(S)

The basic object of the RTI Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and
accountability in the working of the Government and make our democracy work for the people
in real sense. The Right to Information Act, 2005 empowers citizens to get information from any
'public authority'. The Public Information Officer (PIO) of a public authority plays a pivotal role
in making the right of a citizen to information a reality. The Act casts specific duties on him and
makes him liable for penalty in case of default. It is, therefore, essential for a PIO to study the
Act carefully and understand its provisions correctly. Following aspects should particularly be
kept in view while dealing with the applications under the Act.

1) What is Information?
Information is any material in any form. It includes records, documents, memos, emails,
opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples,
models, data material held in any electronic form. It also includes information relating to any
private body, which can be accessed by the public authority under any law for the time being in
force.
2) Right to Information under the Act
i. A citizen has a right to seek such information from a public authority which is held by
the public authority or which is held under its control.
ii. This right includes inspection of work, documents and records; taking notes, extracts or
certified copies of documents or records; and taking certified samples of material held by the
public authority or held under the control of the public authority.
iii. The Act gives the citizens a right to information at par with the Members of Parliament
and the Members of State Legislatures. According to the Act, the information, which cannot be
denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature, shall not be denied to any person.
iv. A citizen has a right to obtain an information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes,
video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through print-outs provided such information
is already stored in a computer or in any other device from which the information may be
transferred to diskettes etc.
v. The Act gives the right to information only to the citizens of India. It does not make
provision for giving information to Corporations, Associations, Companies etc., which are legal
entities/persons, but not citizens.
vi. However, if an application is made by an employee or office-bearer of any Corporation,
Association, Company, NGO etc. indicating his name and such employee/office bearer is a
citizen of India; information may be supplied to him/her. In such cases, it would be presumed
that a citizen has sought information at the address of the Corporation etc.
vii. The information to the applicant should ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is
sought. However, if the supply of information sought in a particular form would
disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or may cause harm to the safety
or preservation of the records, supply of information in that form may be denied.
viii. Only such information is required to be supplied under the Act, which already exists and
is held by the public authority or held under the control of the public authority.
ix. The PIO is not supposed to create information; or to interpret information; or to solve
the problems raised by the applicants; or to furnish replies to hypothetical questions.
3) Information Exempted From Disclosure
i. The right to seek information from a public authority is not absolute. Section 8 and 9 of
the Act enumerate the categories of information, which are exempted from disclosure.
ii. Schedule II of the Act contains the names of the Intelligence and Security Organisations
which are exempted from the purview of the Act. The exemption of the organisations, however,
does not cover supply of information relating to allegations of corruption and human rights
violations.
iii. Sub-section (1) of section 8 and section 9 of the Act enumerate the types of information,
which is exempted from disclosure.
iv. Sub-section (2) of section 8, however, provides that information exempted under sub-
section (l) or exempted under the Official Secrets Act, l923 can be disclosed if public
interest in disclosure overweighs the harm to the protected interest.
v. Further, Sub-section (3) of section 8 provides that information exempted from disclosure
under sub-section (l), except as provided in clauses (a), (c) and (i) thereof, would cease to be
exempted after 20 years from the date of occurrence of the related event etc.
vi. It may be noted that section 8(3) of the Act does not require the public authorities to
retain records for indefinite period. The records should be retained as per the record retention
schedule applicable to the concerned public authority. Information generated in a file may
survive in the form of an OM or a letter or in any other form even after destruction of the
file/record. The Act requires furnishing of information so available after the lapse of 20 years
even if such information was exempt from disclosure under sub- section (l) of Section 8. It
means that the information, which in normal course is exempt from disclosure under sub-
section (l) of Section 8 of the Act, would cease to be exempted if 20 years have lapsed after
occurrence of the incident to which the information relates. However, the following types of
information would continue to be exempt and there would be no obligation, even after lapse of
20 years, to give any citizen:-

a. information disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity
of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interest of the State, relation with foreign
state or lead to incitement of an offence;
b. information the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or
State Legislature; or
c. cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries
and other Officers subject to the conditions given in proviso to clause (i) of sub-section( l)
of Section 8 of the Act.
4) Right to Information vis-a-vis other Acts
The RTI Act has over-riding effect vis-a-vis other laws inasmuch as the provisions of the RTI
Act would have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the
Official Secrets Act, l923, and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument
having effect by virtue of any law other than the RTI Act.

5) Rendering Assistance to Applicants

i. The Public Information Officer has a duty to render reasonable assistance to the persons
seeking information. As per provisions of the Act, a person, who desires to obtain any
information, is required to make a request in writing or through electronic means in English or
Hindi or in the official language of the area in which the application is made. If a person seeking
information is not able to make such request in writing, the Public Information Officer should
render reasonable assistance to him to reduce the same in writing.
ii. Where access to a record is required to be provided to a sensorily disabled person, the
Public Information Officer should assist such person to enable him to access the information.
He should also provide such assistance to the person as may be appropriate for the inspection of
records where such inspection is involved.
6) Assistance Available to PIO
The Public Information Officer may seek the assistance of any other officer as he or she
considers necessary for the proper discharge of his or her duties. The officer, whose assistance
is so sought by the PIO, would render all assistance to him. Such an officer shall be deemed to
be a Public Information Officer and would be liable for contravention of any provisions of the
Act the same way as any other Public Information Officer. It would be advisable for the PIO to
inform the officer whose assistance is sought, about the above provision, at the time of seeking
his assistance.
7) Suo-motu Disclosure
The Act makes it obligatory for every public authority to make suo-motu disclosure in respect
of the particulars of its organization, functions, duties and other matters, as provided in section
4 of the Act. The information so published, according to sub-section (4) of section 4, should be
easily accessible with the PIO in electronic format. The PIO should, therefore, make concerned
efforts to ensure that the requirements of the Section 4 are met and maximum information in
respect of the public authority is made available on the internet. It would help him in two ways.
First, the number of applications under the Act would be reduced and secondly, it would
facilitate his work of providing information inasmuch as most of the information would be
available to him at one place.
8) Fee for Seeking Information
a. An applicant, along with his application, is required to send a demand draft or a banker's
cheque or an Indian Postal Order of RS.l0/- (Rupees ten), payable to the Accounts Officer of
the public authority as fee prescribed for seeking information. He can also make payment of fee
by way of cash to the Accounts Officer of the public authority or to the Central Assistant Public
Information Officer against proper receipt.
b. Additional fee has been prescribed by the Right to Information Regulation of Fee and
Cost) Rules, 2005 for supply of information as given below:-
i. rupees two (Rs. 2/-) for each page ( in A-4 or A-3 size paper) created or copied;
ii. actual charge or cost price of a copy in larger size paper;
iii. actual cost or price for samples or models;
iv. for inspection of records, no fee for the first hour; and a fee of rupees five (Rs. 5/-) for
each subsequent hour (or fraction thereof);
v. for information provided in diskette or floppy rupees fifty (Rs.50/-) per diskette or
floppy; and
vi. for information provided in printed form at the price fixed for such publication or rupees
two per page of photocopy for extracts from the publication.
a. If the applicant belongs to below poverty line (BPL) category, he is not required to pay any
fee. However, he should submit a proof in support of his claim to belong to the below poverty
line. The application not accompanied by the prescribed fee of RS.l0/- or proof of the
applicant's belonging to below poverty line, as the case may be, shall not be a valid application
under the Act and, therefore, does not entitle the applicant to get information.
9) Contents and Format of Application
An applicant making request for information is not required to give any reason for requesting
the information or any other personal details except those that may be necessary for contacting
him. Also, the Act or the Rules do not prescribe any format of application for seeking
information. Therefore, the applicant should not be asked to give justification for seeking
information or to give details of his job etc. or to submit application in any particular form.
10) Invalid Applications
Soon after receiving the application, the PIO should check whether the applicant has made the
payment of application fee of Rs. l0 or whether the applicant is a person belonging to a Below
Poverty Line (BPL) family. If application is not accompanied by the prescribed fee or the BPL
Certificate, it cannot be treated as a valid application under the RTI Act and may be ignored.
11) Transfer of Application
a. If the application is accompanied by the prescribed fee or the Below Poverty Line
Certificate, the PIO should check whether the subject matter of the application or a part thereof
concerns some other public authority. If the subject matter of the application concerns any other
public authority, it should be transferred to that public authority. If only a part of the application
concerns the other public authority, a copy of the application may be sent to that public authority,
clearly specifying the part, which relates to that public authority. While transferring the
application or sending a copy thereof, the concerned public authority should be informed that
the application fee has been received. The applicant should also be informed about the transfer
of his application and the particulars of the public authority to whom the application or a copy
thereof has been sent.
b. Transfer of application or part thereof, as the case may be, should be made as soon as
possible and in any case within five days from the date of receipt of the application. If a PIO
transfers an application after five days from the receipt of the application, he would be
responsible for delay in disposing of the application to the extent of number of days which he
takes in transferring the application beyond 5 days.
c. The PIO of the public authority to whom the application is transferred, should not refuse
acceptance of transfer of the application on the ground that it was not transferred to him within
5 days.
d. A public authority may designate as many PIOs for it, as it may deem necessary. It is
possible that in a public authority with more than one PIO, an application is received by the PIO
other than the concerned PIO. In such a case, the PIO receiving the application should transfer
it to the concerned PIO immediately, preferably the same day. Time period of five days for
transfer of the application applies only when the application is transferred from one public
authority to another public authority and not for transfer from one PIO to another in the same
public authority.
12) Supply of Information
a. The answering PIO should check whether the information sought or a part thereof is
exempt from disclosure under section 8 or Section 9 of the Act. Request in respect of the part
of the application, which is so exempt, may be rejected and rest of the information should be
provided immediately or after receipt of additional fees, as the case may be.
b. Where a request for information is rejected, the Public Information Officer should
communicate to the person making the request:-
(i) the reasons for such rejection;
(ii) the period within which an appeal against such rejection may be preferred; and
(iii) the particulars of the authority to whom an appeal can be made.
c. If additional fee is required to be paid by the applicant as provided in the Right to
Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005, the Central Public Information Officer
should inform the applicant:-
(i) the details of further fees required to be paid;
(ii) the calculations made to arrive at the amount of fees asked for; (iii)the fact that the
applicant has a right to make appeal about the
amount of fees so demanded;
(iv) the particulars of the authority to whom such an appeal can be made; and
(v) the time limit within which the appeal can be made.
13) Supply of Part Information by Severance
Where a. request is received for access to information, which is exempt from disclosure but a
part of, which is not exempted and such part can be severed in such a way that the severed part
does not contain exempt information then, access to that part of the information/record may be
provided to the applicant. Where access is granted to a part of the record in such a way, the
Central Public Information Officer should inform the applicant that the information asked for is
exempt from disclosure and that only part of the record is being provided, after severance, which
is not exempt from disclosure. While doing so, he should give the reasons for the decision,
including any findings on any material question of fact, referring to the material on which those
findings were based. The PIO should take the approval of appropriate authority before supply of
information in such a case and should inform the name and designation of the person giving the
decision to the applicant also.
14) Time Period for Supply of Information
a. The PIO should supply the information within thirty days of the receipt of the request.
Where the information sought for concerns the life or liberty of a person, the same should be
provided within forty-eight hours of the receipt of the request.
b. Every public authority is required to designate an officer at each sub-divisional level
or other sub-district level as a Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO) to receive the
applications or appeals under the Act for forwarding the same to the Public Information
Officer or the first Appellate Authority or the Information Commission. If request for
information is received through the APIO, the information may be provided within 35 days of
receipt of application by the APIO in normal course and 48 hours plus 5 days in case the
information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person.
c. In case of an application transferred from one public authority to another public
authority, as referred to in para 2l, reply should be provided by the concerned public authority
within 30 days of the receipt of the application by that public authority in normal course and
within 48 hours in case the information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person.
d. The Public Information Officer(s) of the intelligence and security organisations specified
in the Second Schedule of the Act may receive applications seeking information pertaining to
allegations of corruption and human rights violations. Information in respect of allegations of
violation of human rights, which is provided only after the approval of the Central Information
Commission, should be provided within forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request.
Time limit prescribed for supplying information in regard to allegations of corruption is the
same as in other cases.
e. Where the applicant is asked to pay additional fee, the period intervening between the
dispatch of the intimation about payment of fee and the payment of fee by the applicant shall be
excluded for the purpose of calculating the period of reply. The following table shows the
maximum time which may be taken to dispose off the applications in' different situations:-
f. If the PIO fails to give decision on the request for information within the prescribed
period, the Public Information Officer shall be deemed to have refused the request. It is pertinent
to note that if a public authority fails to comply with the specified time limit, the information to
the concerned applicant would have to be provided free of charge.
15) Third Party Information
a. Third party in relation to the Act means a person other than the citizen who has made
request for information. Any public authority other than the public authority to whom the request
has been made shall also be included in the definition of third party.

b. It may be noted that information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or

intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third
party, is exempt from disclosure. Section 8(l)(d) requires that such information should not
be disclosed unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the
disclosure of such information.
c. If an applicant seeks any information which relates to or has been supplied by a third
party and that third party has treated that information as confidential, the Public Information
Officer should consider whether the information should be disclosed or not. The guiding
principle in such cases should be that except in the case of trade or commercial secrets protected
by law, disclosure may be allowed if the public interest in disclosure outweighs in importance
any possible harm or injury to the interests of such third party. However, procedure as given
below should be followed before disclosing such information. It may be noted that this procedure
need be followed only when the third part has treated the information as confidential.
d. If the PIO intends to disclose the information, he should within five days from the receipt
of the application, give a written notice to the third party that the information has been sought
by the applicant under the RTI Act and that he intends to disclose the information. He should
request the third party to make a submission in writing or orally, regarding whether the
information should be disclosed. The third party should be given a time of ten days, from the
date of receipt of the notice by him, to make representation against the proposed disclosure, if
any.
e. The Public Information Officer should make a decision regarding disclosure of the
information keeping in view the submission of the third party. Such a decision should be taken
within forty days from the receipt of the request for information. After taking the decision, the
PIO should give a notice of his decision to the third party in writing. The notice given to the
third party should include a statement that the third party is entitled to prefer an appeal under
section l9 against the decision.
f. The third party can prefer an appeal to the First Appellate Authority against the decision
made by the Central Public Information Officer within thirty days from the date of the receipt of
notice. If not satisfied with the decision of the First Appellate Authority, the third party can
prefer the second appeal to the Central Information Commission.
g. If an appeal has been filed by the third party against the decision of the PIO to disclose
the third party information, the information should not be disclosed till the appeal is decided.
16) Appeals and Complaints
a. If an applicant is not supplied information within the prescribed time limit, or is not
satisfied with the information furnished to him, he may prefer an appeal to the first appellate
authority who is an officer senior in rank to the PIO. Such an appeal can be made within a period
of 30 days from the date on which time limit for supply of information expires or the decision
of the PIO is received. The appellate authority of the public authority is expected to dispose of
the appeal within a period of thirty days or in exceptional cases within 45 days of the receipt of
the appeal. If the first appellate authority fails to pass an order on the appeal within the prescribed
period of if the appellate is not satisfied with the order of the first appellate authority, he may
prefer a second appeal with the Central information Commission within ninety days from the
date on which the decision should have been made by the first appellate authority or was actually
received by the appellant.
b. If any person is unable to submit a request to a Public Information Officer either by
reason that such an officer has not been appointed by the concerned public authority; or the
Assistant Central Public Information Officer has refused to accept his or her application or
appeal for forwarding the same to the Central Public Information Officer or the appellate
authority, as the case may be; or he has been refused access to any information requested by him
under the RTI Act; or he has not been given a response to a request for information within the
time limit specified in the Act; or he has been required to pay an amount of fee which he
considers unreasonable; or he believes that he has been given incomplete, misleading or false
information, he can make a complaint to the Central Information Commission.
17) Imposition of Penalty
As pointed out above, an applicant under the Act has a right to appeal to the Central Information
Commission and also to make complaint to the Commission. Where the Central Information
Commission at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that the Public
Information Officer has without any reasonable cause, refused to receive an application for
information or has not furnished information within the time is specified or malafidely denied
the request for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information
or destroyed information which was the subject of the request or obstructed in any manner in
furnishing the information, it shall impose a penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees each day
till application is received or information is furnished subject to the condition that the total
amount of such penalty shall not exceed twenty-five thousand rupees. The Central Public
Information Officer shall, however, be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before any
penalty is imposed on him. The burden of proving that he acted reasonably and diligently and in
case of denial of a request that such denial was justified shall be on the Central Public
Information Officer.
18) CIC may recommend disciplinary Action against PIO
Where the Central Information Commission at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is
of the opinion that the Public Information Officer has without any reasonable cause and
persistently, failed to receive an application for information or has not furnished information
within the time specified or malafidely denied the request for information or knowingly given
incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed information which was the subject
of the request or obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information, it may recommend for
disciplinary action against the Public Information Officer.
19) Protection for Work Done in Good Faith
Section 2l of the Act provides that no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against
any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under the Act or any
rule made there under. A PIO should, however, note that it would be his responsibility to prove
that his action was in good faith.
20) Annual Report of the CIC
The Central Information Commission prepares a report on the implementation of the provisions
of the RTI Act every year, which is laid before each House of the Parliament. This report, inter-
alia, has to include information about the number of requests made to each public authority, the
number of decisions where the applicants were not entitled to access to documents requested for,
the provisions of the Act under which these decisions were made and the number of times such
provisions were invoked, the amount of charges collected by each public authority under the
Act. Each Ministry/Department is required to collect such information from all the public
authorities under its jurisdiction and send the same to the Commission. The CPIOs should
maintain the requisite information in this regard so that it may be supplied to their administrative
Ministry/Department soon after the end of the year, which in turn may supply to the
Commission.
 AT A GLANCE ACTION OF PIO

Sr. Situation Time limit for disposing off

applications
l. Supply of information in normal course 30 days

2. Supply of information if it concerns the 48 hours

life or liberty of a person

3. Supply of information if the application 05 days shall be added to the

is received through APIO. time period indicated at
Sr. No.l and 2.
4. Supply of information if application/ (a) Within 30 days of the
request is received after transfer from receipt of the application by
another public authority: the concerned public
(a) In normal course authority.
(b) In case the information concerns the (b) Within 48 hours of receipt of
life or liberty of a person the application by the concerned
public authority.

5. Supply of information by organizations

specified in the Second Schedule:
(a) If information relates to allegations of (a) 45 days from the receipt of
violation of human rights. application.

(b) In case information relates to (b) Within 30 days of the

allegations of corruption. receipt of application.

6. Supply of information if it relates to third Should be provided after

party and the third party has treated it as following the procedure given
confidential. in para l5 of these guidelines.

7. Supply of information where the The period intervening between

applicant is asked to pay additional fee. informing the applicant about
additional fee and the payment
of fee by the applicant shall be
excluded for calculating the
period of reply.
A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A Letter to the editor is a written way of talking to a newspaper, magazine, or other regularly
printed publication. Letters to the editor are generally found in the first section of the newspaper,
or towards the beginning of a magazine, or in the editorial page. They can take a position for or
against an issue, or simply inform, or both. They can convince readers by using emotions, or
facts, or emotions and facts combined. Letters to the editor are usually short and tight, rarely
longer than 300 words.
Using a few carefully placed letters, you can generate plenty of community discussion. You can
also keep an issue going by preventing it from disappearing from the public eye. You can
stimulate the interest of the news media and create more coverage for the matters you're working
on. You can also send a "good news" letter to bring recognition to people who deserve it or
acknowledge the success of an effort.
WHY SHOULD YOU WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR?
Letters to the editor are among the most widely read features in any newspaper or magazine.
They allow you to reach a large audience. You can probably think of many more specific reasons
why you might want to write to the editor, but here are a few general ones:
You are angry about something, and want others to know it
You think that an issue is so important that you have to speak out
Part of your group's strategy is to persuade others to take a specific action
Or you want to:
Suggest an idea to others
Influence public opinion
Educate the general public on a specific matter
Influence policy-makers or elected officials directly or indirectly
Publicize the work of your group and attract volunteers or program participants
WHEN SHOULD YOU WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR?
Letters to the editor can be written any time you want to shape public opinion, tell others how
you feel about people, programs, or ideas, or just inform the public on a certain issue. They are
a great way to increase awareness of the issues that you or your organization are working for, as
well as to advocate for your cause.
Letters to the editor can also be used to start a community conversation about an issue important
to you. A planned series of letters to the editor can stimulate public interest and media coverage.
It's up to you to determine when is the best time to start writing the letters, allowing time for
them to be published.
The larger the newspaper or magazine, the more competition there is for letters-to-the-editor
space. This means your letter will need to stand out in order to get printed. The tips in this section
will help you write a letter that will be effective and stand out on the editor's desk.
Keep in mind that if you want to inform the public of a certain action your organization is about
to take, you may want to think of issuing a press release instead. If newspapers consistently
ignore your news releases, your best choice may be a letter to the editor.
HOW SHOULD YOU SEND YOUR LETTER?
The reality for virtually every print publication is that they’d prefer to get letters and other
material by e-mail, since everything they publish is set up on a computer and printed straight
from software. If you send your letter electronically, all they have to do is transfer it directly to
the “letters” page in the software in order to print it.
You can still send a postal letter, of course, but someone has to type it into the computer before
it can be printed, and so it may not only arrive later than an e-mail, but may wait longer after it’s
received to be printed.
HOW DO YOU WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR?
OPEN THE LETTER WITH A SIMPLE SALUTATION.
Don't worry if you don't know the editor's name. A simple "To the Editor of the Daily Sun," or
just “To the Editor:” is sufficient. If you have the editor's name, however, you should use it to
increase the possibilities of your letter being read.
GRAB THE READER'S ATTENTION.
Your opening sentence is very important. It should tell readers what you’re writing about, and
make them want to read more.
EXPLAIN WHAT THE LETTER IS ABOUT AT THE START.
Throughout your letter, remember the rule:
Be quick,
Be concise, and then
Be quiet.
Don't make the editor or the general public wait to find out what you want to say. Tell them your
key point at the beginning.
EXPLAIN WHY THE ISSUE IS IMPORTANT.
If you are motivated enough to write a letter to a newspaper or magazine, the importance of your
topic may seem clear to you. Remember, though, that the general public probably doesn't share
your background or the interest. Explain the issue and its importance simply. Use plain language
that most people will understand
GIVE EVIDENCE FOR ANY PRAISE OR CRITICISM.
If you are writing a letter discussing a past or pending action, be clear in showing why this will
have good or bad results.
STATE YOUR OPINION ABOUT WHAT SHOULD BE DONE.
You can write a letter just to ''vent," or to support or criticize a certain action or policy, but you
may also have suggestions about what could be done to improve the situation. If so, be sure to
add these as well. Be specific. And the more good reasons you can give to back up your
suggestions, the better.
KEEP IT BRIEF.
Generally, shorter letters have a better chance of being published. So go back over your letter
and see if anything can be cut or condensed. If you have a lot to say and it can't be easily made
short, you may want to check with the editor to see if you could write a longer opinion feature
or guest column.
SIGN THE LETTER.
Be sure to write your full name (and title, if relevant) and to include your address, phone number,
and e-mail address. Newspapers won't print anonymous letters, though in some cases they may
withhold your name on request. They may also call you to confirm that you wrote the letter
before they publish it.
CHECK YOUR LETTER TO MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR AND TO THE POINT.
A newspaper may not print every letter it receives, but clear, well-written letters are likely to be
given more serious consideration.
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR LETTERS ACCEPTED?
How likely your letter is to be published depends to a certain extent on the publication you’re
sending it to. The New York Times probably receives hundreds, if not thousands of letters a day,
only ten or so of which make it into print. A small-town newspaper, on the other hand, may print
every letter it gets, since it may get only two or three a day.
In general, newspapers and magazines will publish letters that are well-written and articulate,
and that either represent specific points of view on an issue, or that thoughtfully analyze complex
issues and events. Most publications stay away from publishing rants, although they may publish
short-and-to-the-point letters that make the same points as a rant might, but in a much calmer
and more rational way. Publications also tend to stay away from attacks on particular people
(although not from criticism of the actions of politicians and other public figures), and anything
that might possibly be seen as libel.
Legally, libel is the publication of a false statement about someone that damages that person’s
reputation. Thus to falsely accuse someone of a crime would be libel; to inaccurately print that
someone had won an award for citizenship would not be.

TO
Addressee's Name,
Designation,
The Company's Name,
Full Address with Phone Number.
Subject :
Dear ____,

Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw attention of the municipal
authorities towards the scarcity of water in our locality.

Our locality, there is no fixed time for the supply of water. Sometimes the water is not supplied
at all, consecutively for four-five days. Sometimes the water supply is for a very short time.

Others, the water are polluted. Some worms can be seen the floating in the Water several
complaints were made but all of them have fallen on deaf ears of the authorities. The authorities
have not yet taken any concrete steps to solve our water problem.
I shall be thankful to you for the publication of the above in columns of your esteemed daily.

Thanking you.
General Complaint Letter