3.21 lakh appeals pending with Information Commissions: report

Source: The post is based on the article “3.21 lakh appeals pending with Information Commissions: report” published in “The Hindu” on 12th October 2023

What is the News?

The ‘Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India, 2022-23’ has been released.

The report has been compiled based on the performance of Information Commissions across the country and on information accessed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS), a citizens’ group working to promote transparency and accountability in governance.

What are the key findings of the report?

Pending appeals: More than 3 lakh appeals and complaints are pending in 27 State Information Commissions across the country.

– Note: In 2019, there were 2.1 lakh pending appeals/complaints.This number increased to 2.8 lakh in 2021 and then surpassed three lakh by 2022.

Vacancies: Four Information Commissions, namely Jharkhand, Telangana, Mizoram and Tripura are defunct because no new Information Commissioners were appointed after the incumbents left their positions. 

– Further, six Information Commissions are currently without a head including the Central Information Commission and the State Information Commissions of Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Punjab.

Time taken to dispose of an appeal: West Bengal takes around 24 years and one month to dispose of an appeal.In comparison, Uttar Pradesh may take seven months to clear an appeal.

Maharastra with the highest pendency cases may take four years and three months to clear a case.