3.33 crore RTI queries filed in Centre, states since 2005; 38 posts of Information Commissioners vacant

As the transparency law enters 16 years on Monday, over 3.33 crore RTI applications have been filed with the central and state authorities since 2005 with three south Indian states, including Karnataka, finding a place in the top-five list.

The analysis by the Transparency International India (TII) also showed that one in almost every four posts of Information Commissioner, 38 out of 160, remained vacant as on October 9, indicating the government's lack of political will to strengthen the transparency regime in the country that has completed 15 years of existence.

This included the post of Chief Information Commissioner at the Central Information Commission and those at state commissions in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa. The situation has worsened if compared to the situation last October when only 24 posts out of 155, excluding Jammu and Kashmir, remained vacant.

Read: RTI Act: 15 years on, transparency a mirage

The TII's '2020: State Transparency Report – Journey So Far and Challenges Ahead' showed the ministries and departments under the central government received the highest number of RTI queries during the period clocking 92.63 lakh. Maharashtra followed the Centre with 69.36 lakh queries while Karnataka bagged the third position with 30.50 lakh RTI queries.

Tamil Nadu (26.91 lakh) and Kerala (21.92 lakh) also found a place in the top five list.

Among the states with more than one crore population, the analysis showed that West Bengal (98,323) and Assam (1.82 lakh) received the least number of RTI applications.

Himachal Pradesh with 4.84 lakh and Tripura with 42,111 were among the states which received the higher number of RTI queries among smaller states. Manipur (4,374) and Sikkim (5,120) received the least.

Amplifying the concerns of transparency activists about the reluctance of Information Commissioners in imposing a penalty on erring Public Information Officers (PIOs) who refuse information under one pretext or another, the statistics showed that only in 15, 834 cases, a penalty was imposed by State Information Commissions (excluding Central Information Commission) between 2005-06 and 2018-19.

The Central Information Commission (CIC) and State Information Commissions (SICs) can impose a penalty of Rs 250 per day to maximum Rs 25,000 under Section 20(1) of RTI Act.

Also Read: The quest for truth turns costly for RTI activists

"Enacted with the prime objective of bringing about progressive change in the governance of the country, the only concern that remains to be addressed in the 16th year of the Act’s implementation is - Why does the RTI regime have to continuously face challenges on political and social fronts to achieve this objective?" TII Executive Director Rama Nath Jha asked.

"Major recognised and national political parties of the country take undue advantage of the claim to create an enabling environment for effective RTI implementation and win the elections and/or pro-transparency image. But once these acquire power, these ruling combinations forget about the promises made and instead make concerted efforts to make the RTI Act lose its strength and vigour," TII Chairperson S R Wadhwa said.

The report also said, "Digital India is a mantra but digital governance in India is far from reality as websites of information commissions are not working or providing updated information." It also found out that many State Information Commissions have not published their annual reports for many years, whereas Chhattisgarh is the only state which has published the latest annual report on its website.

According to the report, one in almost three public authorities under the Centre are failing to report to the CIC regarding the number of RTI applications they handle in one year, despite the fact that filing of annual RTI returns is mandatory under Section 25 (2) of RTI Act.

Also read: RTI Act: The torchlight in a democracy

"This is because of a few genuine reasons such as shortage of manpower, no proper cataloguing and storage of information, the volume of frivolous queries and a grave concern regarding the non-serious attitude of many public authorities. Queries are mostly personal in nature, which is another concern. RTI will serve its purpose more if RTI applications are filed on issues of larger public interests," it said.

The report said the activists insist that imposition of penalties and payment of compensation to applicants can be used as tools for ensuring adherence to the norms of providing information within a reasonable time frame.

"Probably fixing a time limit for the disposal of first appeals as well as second appeals may go a long way if the government takes a step in this direction as has been prompted through the initiative of Madras High Court recently," it said.

Referring to the "biggest challenge" to ensure the protection of information seekers as cases of harassments and murder of RTI applicants is increasing across the country, the report said at least 90 people who had filed RTI applications have been killed while 175 others have been attacked, a dozen committed suicide while hundreds reported being harassed by the powerful in the past 15 years.

"Suo motu disclosures under the RTI Act have also been apathetically ignored by the authorities especially those related to health, migrant labourers, finances etc. Instead of voluntarily publishing data on the website portals and providing as much as information as possible to the public regarding the true pictures of the Covid-19 pandemic in India- the authorities are utilizing all kinds of tactics to undermine the sovereignty and right to freedom of information of the citizens," it added.