Pune (Maharashtra), May 17 (IANS) It’s a potent law. Yet it’s chances for success could be killed by the speedy growth in the number of pending cases piling up at the Centre and states under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Cases are multiplying at both the Central Information Commission and state commissions across India, which are meant to decide on complaints from citizens who feel they got a raw deal when they sought access to official information under the Act.
“Lack of monitoring of this aspect and getting it corrected will lead to a situation like our judicial system – of an unending wait,” warns Shailesh Gandhi, a prominent Right to Information campaigner in Mumbai.
Each month, the New Delhi-based Central Information Commission gets some 500-800 complaints per month. Its five commissioners manage to dispose of between 300-500 every month and there were some 3,171 pending complaints by March-end, said Gandhi.
He believes that if the commissions do not ensure quick disposal of pending cases, the ‘waiting period’ could extend beyond a year at the commission. Then citizens would simply stop approaching information commissioners.
Under India’s path-breaking law, passed in mid-2005, the Central Information Commission and state commissions have a duty to receive complaints from people who have not been able to get information from officials appointed to undertake that task.
They have to also deal with complaints of people who feel they were given incomplete or false information, or even were charged unreasonable fees.
In the states too, the pending complaints have been growing, according to figures cited by Gandhi. Maharashtra has over 6,500 pending complaints – this large state of 97 million people had one commissioner till a few months ago. Three more were finally added earlier this year.
Gujarat has 1,800 pending cases. Punjab had received 1,400 cases and disposed of about 700 till January – it has a whopping nine commissioners. Kerala has five commissioners and 444 cases were pending till January-end.
Rajasthan, with one commissioner, had 167 unattended cases till February-end. Meghalaya has just one commissioner, and no pending complaints.
“The principal information officer of Madhya Pradesh’s commission refused to give us even this information on the grounds that this is not information!” said Gandhi.
RTI campaigners are also concerned that the post of commissioner is being reduced to a dumping ground for pliable retired officials, rather than appointing those who would do the job best.
Another issue also being highlighted is whether reports – required under Section 25 of the RTI Act – are being collated and presented to legislatures and parliaments, as required by the law.