Pune shows way to tackle RTI cases …Viju B I TNN
Mumbai: Maharashtra tops among the number of queries filed under the Right To Information (RTI) Act across the country, with around 3 lakh RTI queries being filed till date. But unfortunately, the state also has the maximum number of final appeals pending for disposal. Around 14,000 appeals are currently pending with the six information commissions across the state, which is threatening to derail the effective implementation of the RTI Act.
Now the information commission, Pune, has successfully tried out a fast-court disposal system and heard 197 appeals in a span of two days.
Pune information commissioner, Vijay Kuvlekar, on March 18 and 19 passed orders after hearing appeals filed from Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kholapar and Sholapur districts that were pending for the last two-and-a-half-years.
Most queries pending before the commission were related to revenue, health and education that were stonewalled by the public information officers and the appellate authorities of various departments. The commission has about 2,560 pending cases. I realised that if the pendency increased, it may even render the RTI Act ineffective, Kuvlekar said from his Pune office.
As a first step, the information commission wrote 600 letters to officers in all government departments apprising the need to provide information within the stipulated 30 days. The commission then identified the queries which were pending for months together and then sent 5,000 letters to the public information officers and appellate authorities seeking the status of the cases.
Only 30% of the officers responded to the initiative. Both the applicants and the appellate authority were called to the information commissions office, he said.
At the commissions s office, a dialogue was initiated between the applicant and appellate authority and surprisingly, the information was provided even before the actual hearing took place.
In at least 10 cases, the appellate authority even promised to take action immediately. The officers even promised to take action against illegal encroachment as per the request made in the final appeals, Kuvlekar said.
RTI activist Shailesh Gandhi said this was a good initiative. If each commission disposed of 25 appeals every day, pendency will come down to 1,000 appeals in a few months, Gandhi said.