Issues faced by the right to information act
Basic Details of the RTI Act 2005:
- The Right to Information Act is one of India’s most effective laws.
- A common citizen has the legal right to query the government.
- It requires the government to respond to a citizen’s request quickly.
- For residents to easily search for and find information, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has worked to ensure that a portal is available.
- Nearly 60 lakh applications are filed annually. Both the general public and the media made use of it.
- Accessible bodies are expected to make a number of specifics about their organization and operation public under the RTI Act of 2005.
Associated Challenges:
- It is improper to use frequently asked-for information that serves no legitimate purpose for the public and might be used to harass public employees. Using an RTI, for example, to request important information right away to get attention
- RTI requests are made with the intention of pressuring or harassing the public authority.
- Lack of knowledge RTI is not utilised as effectively as it may be to hold public authorities accountable and protect the interests of the public because of low literacy rates and a general lack of awareness among the majority of the population in the country.
- backlog of revisions There is a significant backlog of second appeals, the commissions’ activities are growing more clandestine, and hearings take a very long time to complete.
- 56 lakh petitions were still pending with 26 information commissions across the nation as of June 30, 2021.
- CICs are demoted in rank: Although hearings are frequently attended by PIOs from lower ranks, many of whom are illiterate, major RTI petitions and those involving many government ministries require higher authorities to intervene.
- To get the right response, it frequently needs to be reported to higher authorities, in some cases the department secretary.
- There will be fewer requests for senior officers and department leaders to appear and respond to questions as the number of CICs decreases.
- Vacancies, poor commissioner selection, inexperienced personnel, and unhelpful public information officers have plagued the commissions (PIOs).
- Due to ignorance and illiteracy, RTI is not being used to its full potential in India.
- The authorities are continually bothered by those who break the rules. Examples include individuals who demand pointless, lengthy, and typically difficult-to-get information or who use it as a means of retaliation against the government.
- Notices from the Information Commissions frequently require government organisations to do so, even when it is not RTI’s aim to do so.
Why RTI Act is so crucial:
- When a citizen can question the secrecy and misuse of power used in governance, they are given more influence.
- operates in the public interest and is crucial to the smooth running of an active and transparent democracy.
- Other applications of the information would benefit society as a whole and help hold the government accountable.
- Information gathered through the RTI process may be used to reveal government misbehaviour, such as corruption and human rights breaches.
What adjustments were made to the 2019 RTI (Amendment) Act:
- The Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) (at the Central and State level) shall serve a five-year term in office, under the RTI Act of 2005. The Amended Act eliminates this clause and specifies that the Union government would announce the terms of office for the CIC and ICs.
- Pay: According to the RTI Act of 2005, the CIC and IC (at the Central level) must receive salaries that are comparable to those of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, respectively. The revised Act now provides that the Central government would decide on the salary, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment for the Central and State CIC and ICs. This phrase has been removed.
Moving forward:
- Training of officials: More people need to be made aware of India’s information legislation, which is among the strongest in the world, and government employees need to get comprehensive training.
- Conduct guidelines: One must be made by the federal and state information commissioners.
- Senior leaders and the general public must be kept clearly apart from the commissioners.
- The RTI system requires a powerful political framework in order to succeed.
- Instead of being undermined in favour of the government, RTI should be enhanced.
- According to the Supreme Court’s ruling, it is in reality a crucial component of Article 19 of the Indian Constitution’s right to free speech and expression.
- Because the original intent of this Act was to encourage openness and accountability for the government, changes must be made to this Amended Act.
- All public institutions must digitise their papers to improve public accessibility and reduce the need for formal information requests from the public.
- Each and every citizen needs to be aware of how their government functions and how it affects them specifically.
Conclusion:
- The applicability of laws like the RTI Act would be regularly reviewed by the comity of nations as India grows into a key global actor.
