RTI a tool that Strengthens Democracy
Recently, the Right to Information Act has completed its 15 years of presence and now it has entered into a new era in transparency in government functioning.
Need for Right to Information in India
- Before the advent of the RTI act, the disclosure of information in India was restricted by the Official Secrets Act and some other special laws, and the RTI Act relaxed many such laws in the country.
- In 1987, a few laborers in Rajasthan were refused their wages on charges of inconsistent performance.
- Mazdoor Kissan Shakti Sanghatan (MKSS), an activist group fought for these workers and demanded that the government produced the necessary proof to verify the worker’s performance records.
- The protest turned into a national event leading to the passing of the Freedom of Information Act 2002 which became the RTI Act 2005.
Importance of Right to Information
- Mode of seeking information from public authority: The RTI Act mandates that any Indian citizen is free to seek any information from any public or government authority.
- Mandatory computerization records of information: The RTI act has also made it mandatory for computerizing the records for the purpose of wide spread relay so that any information sought by the public can be processed quickly aided by the information categorization.
- Maintenance of democratic balance in the society: Information is the oxygen that any citizen needs to live in the social structure of the society and maintain its democratic balance.
- Bring transparency and accountability together: RTI Act brings the two most important tools ‘transparency and accountability’ together for eradicating the evil that becomes hindrance to good governance.
Concerns associated with Right to Information
- Increase in backlog of cases in Information Commissions: More than 2.2 lakh cases are pending at the Central and State Information Commissions, which are the final courts of appeal under the transparency law.
- Maharashtra had the highest number of pending appeals, with over 59,000 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (47,923) and the CIC (35,653).
- Reduced capacity of officers in Information Commissions: The increasing backlog is exacerbated by the fact that most Commissions are functioning at reduced capacity, including the Central Information Commission (CIC) which has been headless for last couple of months.
- Odisha is functioning with just four commissioners, while Rajasthan has only three whereas Jharkhand and Tripura have no commissioners at all.
- Lack of pace in disposal of cases under RTI Act: The report from the Centre for Equity Studies stated that at the current rate of disposal, the Odisha Commission would take more than seven years to dispose of all pending complaints, while the CIC would take more than two years.
- Lack of punishment for government official under the violation of RTI: The 2019-20 report found that penalties were imposed in only 2.2% of cases that were disposed of, despite previous analysis showing a rate of about 59% violations which should have triggered the process of penalty imposition.
- The non-imposition of penalties in deserving cases by commissions sends a signal to public authorities that violating the law will not invite any serious consequences.
- Non-prescription of a time limit for disposal of second appeals: The efforts to obtain information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 are getting frustrated due to non-prescription of a time limit for disposal of second appeals by information commissions.
15 years of Right to Information in India
- Difference in filing RTI applications and plea: According to an estimate, between 40 and 60 lakh RTI applications are filed every year, but less than 3 per cent Indian citizens have ever filed an RTI plea.
- The ‘Report Card of Information Commissions in India, 2018-19’ released by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SSN) and the Centre for Equity Studies (CES) stated that less than 45 per cent received the information they had sought.
- Increase in RTI application and backlog of Information Commissions: The publicly available data, including in the annual reports of the CIC, shows that while there has been a steady increase in the number of RTI applications filed every year, the backlog has been increasing.
- Deliberate attempt by the governments to keep important posts vacant: The central and state governments have devised an effective way to thwart activists’ attempt to seek information by keeping the posts of information commissioners vacant.
Judicial viewpoint on Right to Information (RTI)
- Matters concerning life and liberty of an individual: The Madras High Court told that the Section 7 of the Act mandates Public Information Officers (PIOs) to provide information within 48 hours in matters concerning life or liberty of a person and within 30 days in all other matters.
- The terms ‘life’ and ‘liberty’ had not been defined under the Act but they must be understood in the same sense in which they had been used in Article 21 of the Constitution and cover a plethora of subjects.
- Provision for appeal before First Appellate Authority: The Section 19 of the Act provides for filing an appeal before the First Appellate Authority if an applicant was not content with the reply of a PIO and Section 19(6) makes it mandatory for disposing of such first appeals within a maximum period of 45 days.
- RTI cannot be used as a tool to obstruct national development: In 2011, the Supreme Court observed that the RTI Act should not be allowed to be misused or abused, to become a tool to obstruct the national development and integration, or to destroy the peace, tranquility and harmony among its citizens.
- The threat of penalties under the RTI Act and the pressure of the authorities under the RTI Act should not lead to employees of a public authorities prioritising `information furnishing’, at the cost of their normal and regular duties.
Measures to be adopted for successful implementation of RTI
- Appointments for vacant post in Information Commission: In December 2019, the Supreme Court directed the central and state governments to appoint information commissioners in CIC and SICs who are vital for the smooth working of the RTI Act.
- Simplified filing of RTI applications: The technicalities of filing an RTI application should be more simplified as the literacy rate of rural India is quite low and thus they find it quite difficult to comply with the procedural formalities.
- Increased awareness campaigns for usability of the RTI: The usability and effect of the RTI should be publicized by awareness campaigns to the general people especially for the poor and marginalized people who are more victimized when compared to the rest
- Increased role of Information Commissions on providing relevant information: The role of information commissions is crucial to ensure that people can obtain information on healthcare facilities, social security programs and delivery of essential goods and services meant for those in distress.
Road ahead
- Regular scrutiny of functioning of Information Commissioners: The need to scrutinise the functioning of information commissions now is perhaps greater than ever before, given the unprecedented crisis gripping the nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Access to relevant information for the poor and marginalised: In order to obtain the benefits of the government schemes, the poor and marginalised affected by the public health emergency, must have access to relevant information.
- The RTI is a tool for promoting participatory development, strengthening democratic governance and facilitating effective delivery of socio-economic services.
- The stricter implementation of RTI law not only depends on the political will but also active civil societies and currently, the RTI Act in India is passing through a decisive phase and much more needs to be done to facilitate its growth and development.
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