RTI Act completes 16 years as watchdogs paint dismal picture

Activists feel the role of Information Commissions is far greater given the unprecedented crisis gripping the country due to Covid-19, as the official watchdogs need to monitor information flow

The Right to Information (RTI) Act completes 16 years of its existence on Tuesday but analysis by transparency watchdogs paint a dismal picture of the transparency regime in the country with the Information Commissions not at all functional in at least three states, 21 per cent vacancies in state and central commissions, and rise in pending appeals and complaints.

Activists feel the role of Information Commissions is far greater given the unprecedented crisis gripping the country due to Covid-19, as the official watchdogs need to monitor the information flow at a time authorities are allegedly using the pandemic as a pretext to deny or delay furnishing information that are critical.

The 'Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India 2021' by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) showed that three states are "completely defunct" at present with not a single Information Commissioner. Jharkhand has been defunct for the last 18 months while Meghalaya is is non-functional for seven months and Tripura for last three months.

"Sixteen years after the RTI Act was implemented, experience in India...suggests that the functioning of information commissions is a major bottleneck in the effective implementation of the RTI law. Large backlog of appeals and complaints in many commissions across the country have resulted in inordinate delays in disposal of cases, which render the law ineffective," it said noting that one of the primary reasons for the backlogs is the failure by the Centre and states to appoint information commissioners without delay.

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The study said three states -- Manipur, Nagaland and Telangana -- have no Chief Information Commissioners appointed while some of them have given additional charge of the chief to an existing Information Commissioner, for which there is actually no provision in law.

Amid vacancies, the SNS report has counted 2,55,602 appeals and complaints as pending as on June 30 this year in the 26 information commissions, from which data was obtained. Maharashtra has the highest pendency at 74,240 followed by Uttar Pradesh (48,514) and Central Information Commission (36,788). Its calculation on estimated time required for disposal of an appeal or complaint for Odisha was six years and eight months, Goa five years and 11 months and Kerala four years and 10 months.

"Performance of information commissions, in terms of exercising their powers to ensure proper implementation of the law, has been a cause of great concern to the RTI community. Commissions have been found to be extremely reluctant to impose penalties on erring officials for violations of the law. Unfortunately, the transparency watchdogs themselves have not had a shining track record in terms of being transparent and accountable to the people of the country," Anjali Bharadwaj of SNS said.

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Commissions did not impose penalties in more than 95 per cent of the cases where penalties were imposable. Between August last year to June this year, 11,742 show-cause notices were issued to PIOs under the penalty clause of the RTI Act for delay or wrongful denial of information.

The 'State Transparency Report (2021): RTI in India Since 2005' by Transparency International showed that 36 out of 165 posts of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are vacant in states and at the centre.

In the past 16 years, it said more than 3.70 crore RTIs and around 25 lakh second appeal or complaints were filed. After the Centre with 1.06 crore RTIs, Maharashtra tops the list for receiving RTIs at 69. 37 lakh since 2005 followed by Tamil Nadu 33.64 lakh, Karnataka 30.50 lakh and Kerala 21.92 lakh.

"Even after 15-16 years, Information commissions are perceived as a burden on the government across all political regimes. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus several drawbacks within the RTI legislations which have undermined one of the most important good governance initiatives in India as they have not adopted technology in their working," the report said.

"From average delay of two years at information commissions, huge pendency of appeals, one fourth post of Information Commissioners post vacant, appointment of retired bureaucrats as commissioner, casual attitude by public information officer while rejecting RTI Application, RTI E-filing still rare facility in states," TII Executive Director Rama Nath Jha said.

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