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More RTIs disposed of during lockdown, says minister; experts disagree
Minister Jitendra Singh shared this during a press briefing on the completion of 15 years of the RTI Act, which came into force on October 12, 2005
Right to Information (RTI) cases recorded a higher disposal rate between March and September this year, while the country was in lockdown, than the corresponding period last year, said Union minister of state, personnel, public grievances, pensions Jitendra Singh on Tuesday.
Singh shared this during a press briefing on the completion of 15 years of the RTI Act, which came into force on October 12, 2005.
“Between March and September 2019, 76.49% of RTI cases were disposed of. During the same period this year, the disposal rate went up to as much as 93.98 %. Last year, out of 11,716 registered cases, 8,962 were disposed of. This year, 8,015 cases were disposed of out of the total of 8,528,” said Singh.
Also read: Key posts vacant as RTI law completes 15 years
“The Central Information Commission (CIC) has worked assiduously even during the lockdown period and despite the challenges of the pandemic, higher disposal of cases became possible due to extensive use of e-office and latest use of technological tools for facilitating the hearings in the commission,” he added.
Singh’s comments come in wake of criticism by RTI activists who allege that the government is trying to curb transparency.
The CIC hasn’t had a chief ever since Bimal Julka retired two months ago. This is the fifth time the commission has been headless since 2014, experts said.
Meanwhile, experts did not quite agree with the government figures. “First of all, the Press Information Bureau release has disclosed percentages, not dates,” said Venkatesh Nayak from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), an organisation working towards greater transparency in governance. “Moreover, an RTI filed with the Central government doesn’t give month-wise data. I myself have had authorities saying that they just can’t respond to the queries or they have to be transferred to appellate authorities. First they delay, then decline,” he added.
According to transparency activist Lokesh Batra, on the website of Central Information Commission, over 22,000 cases were registered last year. “State Information Commissions have not even been functioning,” he said. “They did try their best, whether they did better, the data will tell. CIC started virtual hearings in lockdown period. Bimal Julka did make an effort. To me, the point is, that during lockdown disposing of more is a good initiative. But as an activist, I also got stuck during the lockdown and couldn’t find certain case files.”
On August 18, HT had reported that the working of the state information commissions (SICs) dropped from 80% in June to 44% in July, a survey by the CHRI has found.
The survey was conducted by contacting each of 28 SICs across the country and tracking their websites. The first survey (in April) had found that none of the SICs was working, but during the second survey (in May) 12 SICs had opened their offices. However, only eight were conducting hearings. According to its third rapid telephonic survey, the SICs that had started attending to litigants in June had stopped by July. Out of the 29 information commissions, nearly 80% (23 ) had resumed hearings during Unlock1.0 starting on June 1. The CIC began functioning in mid-April.
The survey also found that the SICs of Bihar, Goa, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh continue to function without a chief information commissioner.
