Rising pending cases Under RTI

• Nearly 3.15 lakh complaints or appeals have been filed with 26 Information Commissions across India regarding the transparency system established by the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

RTI Backlog in India

• Pendency and delays: According to statistics gathered from a number of Information Commissions (ICs), the backlog of appeals or complaints with them is rapidly growing every year (reference period 2019–2022), leading to a protracted waiting period for disposition.
• States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, etc. have the most cases and appeals pending at any given time.
• 4.2 billion RTI requests have been made so far, along with 26 lakh second appeals, with a two-year waiting period on average.
• Fully nonfunctional ICs: Of the 29 ICs, two (one each in Jharkhand and Tripura) have been completely nonfunctional for 29 and 15 months, respectively.
• The mission to protect and advance people's fundamental right to information is violated by the tardy disposal rates that result from ICs' lack of openness in their operation.
• Personnel Management: Retired bureaucrats are using ICs as parking lots.
• Personality traits: When denying RTI applications, the PIO and First Appellate Authority acted casually.
• There is a gender pay gap, with women holding only 5% of information commissioner jobs.
• Fines: In 95% of the situations where penalties might have been imposed, the commissions chose not to do so.
• Vacancies: According to a Transparency International report, 42 out of the total 165 positions for information commissioners are vacant.

The Right to Information Act of 2005

• The Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 was passed by Parliament with the mission of empowering citizens, fostering accountability and openness in government operations, and reducing corruption.
• Introducing the 2019 Right to Information (Amendment) Act: With this alteration, the CIC and ICs' terms of office would no longer be for five years, and the central government would be required to announce their terms. As a result, the commissioners' terms have been reduced to three years.
• Public Authorities are institutions of self-governance created in accordance with the Constitution, a statute, or government order.
• They consist of regulators, public sector organizations, and Ministries.
• They also include any businesses that are owned, controlled or mostly supported by government fusnding, as well as non-governmental organizations.

How the Right to Information Act works

• A three-tier system has been established for the RTI Act of 2005 to enforce the right to information.
• Public information officers: The Assistant and Public Information Officers chosen by the Public Authorities receive the initial request for information.
• A RTI applicant must receive the requested information from them within 30 days of making the request.
• Appellate Authority: It handles appeals against the Public Information Officer's judgments.
• They are tasked with hearing appeals against the Appellate Authority's order, either through the State Information Commission or the Central Information Commission (CIC).
• A Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and up to 10 Information Commissioners make up an information commission (ICs).

Usefulness of RTI

• RTI aids in addressing issues relating to constitutional rights and gives citizens the ability to ask the government for clarification, which is the cornerstone of democracy.
• The institutionalisation of a more informed, egalitarian, and robust decision-making process has been made possible in large part thanks to RTI.

Way Forward

• The need for the transparency watchdogs to operate more efficiently and transparently is critical.
• It is necessary to digitize the entire RTI system in order to improve record management. Every IC should be able to accept RTI applications or appeals electronically.
• The digital RTI portal (website or mobile app) can offer services that are more effective and user-friendly for citizens while also significantly reducing concerns with pending requests and delays.
• PIOs can receive internal training from professionals in efficient case management and disposal techniques.

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