80,000 second RTI appeals; 6,390 Maha RERA appeals pending before government
As per the information available from the State Information Commission website last week, over 80,000 second RTI appeals were pending before the commission
PUNE: Be it the Right to Information (RTI) or Maha RERA or even Guarantee of Service Act, the government seems to have made a habit of enacting laws for the ‘benefit of citizens’ only to ignore implementing them, as can be seen from the appeals pending under each legislation. Thousands of RTI appeals are awaiting decision and five RTI commissioners’ posts are lying vacant; Maha RERA has 6,390 cases pending and two members’ posts lying vacant; whereas the 2021-22 annual report is bruising enough for the status of the Service Guarantee Act. It looks like the administration and political parties believe that their responsibility is over once the laws are enacted.
As per the information available from the State Information Commission website last week, over 80,000 second RTI appeals were pending before the commission. The Maha RERA website had listed 6,390 appeals as pending whereas the website providing information on RTI applications and their current status had become dysfunctional, with citizens alleging complete abdication of responsibility by the state government. According to civic activists, second RTI appeals were pending before all eight commission benches across the state despite the chief information commissioner’s orders to dispose of them expeditiously.
Veteran civic activist and RTI expert Vijay Kumbhar said, “Thousands of second appeals are pending before the RTI Commission, and the Maha RERA has 6,390 appeals pending since a long time. Five posts of information commissioners are vacant while the Maha RERA is still to get two more members on board so that work can be completed expeditiously. The implementation of the Right to Service Act, too, is under a cloud, going by the lethargy on the part of the state government in appointing responsible persons to officiate the posts and provide necessary information to the citizens and take action against the complaints.”
While former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner and crusader against corruption, Mahesh Zagade, tweeted, “Passing acts like these is like dangling a carrot before the citizens. Subsequently, these acts are rendered meaningless by the government after which newer carrots in the form of newer laws are dangled before the citizens once again. The administrative machinery has been designed in such a way that the acts are never needed. The system is completely rotten and till the citizens accept this truth, the system will continue in its current form.”
There are multiple court orders and directions from the central and state governments that require information commissioners to clear second RTI appeals within 45 days. The second appeal must be filed within 90 days from the date on which the first appellate authority’s decision was actually received by the appellant or within 90 days after expiry of 45 days of filing of the first appeal in cases where no reply has been received.
Right to Information activist Saleem Mulla said, “The RTI is a tool for an informed citizenry which makes the government and administration accountable to the public. However, what we are seeing is a complete lack of transparency on the part of or response from RTI officers in government departments, especially the Waqf. We want special legislation by the state government wherein a provision of FIR against information denying government officials must be incorporated.”
