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According to a study by RTI activists, Maharashtra state information commissioners work just two hours a day, creating a backlog of 16,500 cases yet to be heard, which is considerably more than the 10,000 cases disposed of so far
RTI activists have been complaining for some time about the inordinate delays in disposing of pending appeals by state information commissions. Disposal of second appeals and complaints by information commissioners is crucial for successful implementation of the Right to Information Act. At the Maharashtra State Information Commission, 16,500 cases are waiting to be heard -- considerably more than the 10,000 cases disposed of in the past two-and-a-half years. Activists estimate that if you go in for a second appeal, your case may come up for hearing after four years. A study on the Maharashtra State Information Commission by RTI activists Shailesh Gandhi (who has since been appointed a central information commissioner), Sundeep Jalan, S K Nangia, Bhaskar Prabhu and Krishnaraj Rao revealed the reason for the delay: the slow pace at which information commissioners hear cases. The study observed nearly 100 cases from August 27, 2008, to September 10, 2008, heard by three information commissioners, two sitting at Nariman Point and one in Belapur, in Mumbai. It found that individual state information commissioners hear cases for not more than two hours a day. Other findings of the study include: - Information commissioners routinely come in late -- often at 11.30 am or later, although appellants and public information officers (PIOs) are called at 10.30 am for hearings.
- The average turnaround time per case is a reasonably quick eight minutes, “including small-talk and liberal discussion of matters extraneous to RTI”. Large numbers of cases are wound up or adjourned in less than five minutes.
- This means the state information commission is working at 30% of its installed capacity.
The study concludes that if the two information commissioners sitting in Mumbai were to hear cases for five hours a day, as high court judges do, then they would dispose of 75 cases per day as opposed to the current 15-20 cases. This means 1,800 cases a month and 21,000 per year being heard and settled, bringing down the backlog significantly. While attending hearings of cases, the study team also observed that ambiguous orders were given, there was lack of proper procedure for recording orders, lack of accountability as to when written orders will be given, no penalties imposed even on PIOs who have denied information without any justification, arbitrary refusal of information for reasons not justified under the RTI Act, information commissioners arguing on behalf of the public authority and manufacturing imaginary justifications for denial of information when PIOs are not present to represent their own case. Ordinary citizens can observe the proceedings of the Maharashtra State Information Commission in the chambers of state information commissioners on the 13th floor, New Administrative Building, Nariman Point, Mumbai. Source: Sahasi Padyatri press release, September 12, 2008
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