MUMBAI: After social activist Anna Hazare’s indefinite hunger strike announcement, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an immediate stay on the controversial amendments to Right to Information (RTI) rules.
The Maharashtra Right to Information Rules, 2026, proposed several changes, including a higher application fee, mandatory identity proof and a restriction that each application should deal with one subject.
Fadnavis on Thursday asked the chief commissioner of RTI to stay the new notified rules.
Hazare had urged the government to withdraw the notified rules, alleging that they dilute the spirit of the RTI Act and make it more difficult for citizens to access government information. He had threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike from July 5 if the amendments to the RTI rules were not withdrawn.
In a memorandum addressed to CM Fadnavis, Hazare claimed that the new rules introduce procedural hurdles, higher costs and complications in the appeal process, thereby weakening accountability.
Hazare alleged that the rules were framed without public consultation and demanded that the government revoke them and prepare fresh rules after consulting RTI experts, information commissioners, social activists, lawyers, journalists and citizens.
According to a notification issued by the General Administration Department and published in the official gazette on June 12, the new rules came into force immediately upon publication.
Under the new rules, applicants seeking information under the RTI Act will have to pay an application fee of `730. The rules provide that an RTI application should ordinarily be confined to a single subject and not exceed 150 words. Where multiple subjects are included, the PIO may process only the first subject and advise the applicant to file separate applications for the remaining issues.