Bhubaneswar: The report card on the performance of Information Commissions (ICs) in India revealed a troubling rise in the backlog of appeals and complaints, with over 4 lakh cases piling up across the 29 information commissions nationwide as of June 30, 2024.
The report was released by Satark Nagrik Sangathan at the state-level workshop organised by Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhiyan (OSAA). The workshop was held on the topic on ‘RTI Act—Reshaping Indian Democracy.’
Highlighting the situation in Odisha, the report said the state is one of the five commissions which were functioning without a chief information commissioner. The chief of Odisha Information Commission (OIC) demitted office October 4 and the post is lying vacant.
The situation underscores the increasing delays in citizens’ access to information, with many commissions facing waits of over a year to resolve cases.
As per report, OIC is functioning with two commissioners despite having a large pendency of more than 20,000 appeals and complaints. The assessment shows that the estimated waiting time for an appeal/complaint to be disposed by the OIC is three years and 11 months.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) is made up of a Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and up to 10 Information Commissioners (ICs) as per the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The RTI Act was enacted in 2005 to provide a practical regime for people to exercise their fundamental right to information by accessing information from public authorities.
Unfortunately, nineteen 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.
One of the primary reasons for the backlogs is the failure of Central and state governments to take timely action to appoint information commissions to the CIC and state information commissions, respectively, OSAA convener Pradeep Pradhan said.
Attending the workshop, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said, “We will bring amendments in Odisha Right to Information Act and will change the rules such as withdrawal of mandatory forms and fees, renewal and publication of self-disclosed information and review of all false cases against RTI activists.”
Strict action will be taken against those who bring false cases against RTIO activists, he warned.
