The RTI Act has been noted as a fierce democratic tool for the people since its inception in 2005, however the democratic tool has been seriously under threat over the years. From malfunctioning institutions, to murders of its activists, the act has brought a lot of attention due to its provision of accountability and information in a manner that is globally renowned.
From its inception in 2005, the RTI Act essentially allows Indian citizens to initiate a proceeding to request information from the government regarding its functioning. It has helped citizens avail information and statistics from the government that are not available for public access which has been pivotal in helping citizens and citizen groups keep a closer check on government projects, public work departments, and any weakening or reduction in expenditure.
However, a year before nearing the RTI Act’s anniversary in October 2022, the son of an activist lost his life. It happened when a man who had been accused of being a part of illegal sand mining by the activist reportedly collided his four-wheeler with their scooter in Gujarat, according to a report by Scroll.in. However, these kinds of attacks are the norm and have been rising over the years.
Thus, as India once again celebrates the anniversary of the Right to Information Act on October 12, the findings of a report “Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India, 2022-23” by Satark Nagarik Sangathan have revealed that there are about 3.21 lakh appeals pending with its information commissions. The RTI Act has been pivotal with regards to granting access to free and fair information and has been prized to be a radical democratic tool for citizens to hold governments accountable.
However, the SNS report has found instances that seem to say that RTI Act is not functioning as it should. For instance, an astounding number of four information commissions namely, Jharkhand, Telangana, Mizoram, and Tripura – are completely non-functional due to the absence of newly appointed commissioners after the previous ones had left their positions. The information commissions are essentially the appellate authority that is involved in responding to RTI inquiries. Secondly, six commissions, including the Central Information Commission and SICs in Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Punjab, are currently operating without a head.
What is alarming is that there is a huge backlog of pending appeals and complaints and as of June 30, 2023, there were 321,537 pending cases in the 27 information commissions for which data was available, and in fact this backlog has been steadily increasing over time, growing from about 218,347 in 2019 to over 3 lakh in 2022, according to the SNS report.
In an attempt to illustrate the gravity of these numbers, the report calculated the time it would take to solve and dispose of one appeal according to the average monthly disposal rate, and found that, for instance, the West Bengal State Information Commission would need approximately 24 years and 1 month to address a matter filed on July 1, 2023. It would be around 4 years for Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra SICs, and in Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh more than 2 years. Furthermore, the report details that in cases where a penalty was levied, 91% of the cases the penalty was not imposed.
Lastly the RTI Act also mandates each commission to prepare an annual report on the implementation of the Act, which is to be presented before Parliament or the state legislature. However, the report has discovered that of about 19 out of 29 information commissions, 66 % of the total, have not published their annual reports for 2021-22.
In the age of information, government support is vital for citizens to have access to free and fair information which is free of propaganda. The weakening and debilitating condition of the RTI Act cannot bode well for Indian citizens, especially when these democratic hurdles are being confronted by new laws that are touted to threaten the democratic ecosystem further. The approval by the union government of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill during the monsoon session of Parliament has brought forth several concerns for proponents of democratic values and digital rights and, according to activists, a blow to the RTI act.
The National Campaign for People’s Right to Information has been raising alarms over the bill and its implications for data protection and transparency. In their statement issued in December 2022, the NCPRI had asserted that the bill only affects data protection and also weakens the RTI Act, “The proposed Digital Personal Data Protection Bill not only impacts data protection but also weakens critical provisions of the Right to Information Act, which millions of citizens rely on for transparency and accountability.” The NCPRI has also called to attention that the Bill provides “discretionary powers to the executive” and it can keep any government or private sector party immune from the provision of the bill by issuing a notification.
These legislative provisions along with the deep crisis affecting the RTI institutions have made a significant dent into the survival of democratic institutions in the country. As elections mount over the country in 2024, the functioning of the RTI remains pivotal to grant transparency and accountability for an informed citizenry.
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