RTI Act at 17

The Right to Information (RTI) Act is called the sunshine legislation for good reason for it is a structured mechanism providing information to the citizenry about all public actions, while empowering people with the right to ask relevant questions. As the transparency law completes 17 years, the report card is troubling. Nearly 3.15 lakh appeals and complaints are pending across the country, up from 2.18 lakh in 2019. According to an analysis, 12 information commissions have an estimated waiting period of a year or more to dispose of a matter. In 95 per cent of the cases where penalties could have been imposed, no such action was taken. Indirectly, the signal being sent to government employees is that violation of the law will not fetch any severe consequence, undermining its effectiveness.

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The legislation warrants accountability against executive meddling, but there are doubts on that count. Over 40 of the 165 posts of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner are vacant. Only 11 of the total of 29 information commissions provide e-filing facility; of these, just five are functional. The questionable choice of commissioners, untrained staff and the casual approach of officials raise serious concerns. Deliberate delays and half-hearted answers are not new complaints, but the instances are growing, not coming down. Inane queries or those with perverse motives are often cited as an excuse for the tardy processing. In reality, say analysts, these constitute only 4 per cent of the total appeals. A veil of secrecy appears to be descending on organs of governance.

An RTI application is the cheapest and most effective weapon to redress governmental apathy. It has led to the uncovering of several corruption scandals in the public sector, and inspired persistent efforts to dig out information by RTI activists and common citizens, several of whom have been at the receiving end. There is a pressing need, especially by the judiciary, to address the issues that are weakening the treasured legislation.