The RTI Act at a Crossroads: The Paralysis of India's Information Commissions
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Statutory Bodies - Central Information Commission (CIC), State Information Commissions (SICs); Key Legislations - Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies; Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential. The functioning of the RTI mechanism is a core topic.
General Studies Paper 4 (Ethics): Probity in Governance.
Key Highlights from the News
Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005: A new report states that the Central and State Information Commissions (CIC & SICs), which are key institutions for implementing the RTI Act, are in a state of paralysis due to a lack of sufficient commissioners.
Key Findings of the Report:
RTI Commissions in six states, including Jharkhand and Telangana, are defunct due to the absence of commissioners.
The Central Information Commission has nine vacancies, including that of the Chief Commissioner.
There is a massive backlog of lakhs of appeals in the commissions. In states like Telangana, it could take up to 29 years to clear an appeal.
These commissions are the last resort for citizens who do not receive timely responses to their RTI applications.
The paralysis of these commissions weakens the RTI Act itself and undermines transparency and accountability in governance.
These findings are from a report by Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS), a civil society organization that monitors government functions.
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