HYDERABAD: September 28 is celebrated as the International Day for Universal Access to Information. It is the right of the citizens, extended through their right to freedom of expression, to be able to seek, receive and impart information. Informed citizens can make informed decisions and hold their governments accountable for their decisions and actions. In India, citizens can exercise their right to information through the Right to Information Act of 2005.
The constitution of India does not explicitly refer to the right to information as a fundamental right but Article 19(1)(a) guarantees us the right to freedom of speech and expression, which recognises that the freedom of information is part of the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution.
At inception, the RTI Act was seen as a ray of hope to question the government on various issues in the interest of greater benefit to society. However, there are several challenges in exercising this right, for both citizens and activists. The spirit of the act is undermined when the citizens are not given the information asked for with precision and honesty.
Moreover, the fear of harassment, assault and physical violence also prevents citizens from accessing their right to information. A number of incidents of activists being killed or harassed have been reported across the country; the last one in Telangana was in June 2023, when a 70-year-old activist was strangled and dumped in a quarry in the Champak Hills near Jangaon.
“No matter how many RTIs are filed, the response of Public Information Officers (PIOs) is seldom received or is evasive in nature. With the delay in the appointment of the Telangana State Information Commissioner (or if appointed, they would be from the political leanings of the current regime), the act has turned futile in TS. I have filed hundreds of RTIs and I have seen that the PIOs always site confidentiality, while they are obligated to keep the information in the public domain by virtue of the law,” said RTI activist and president of Forum Against Corruption, Vijay Gopal.
He added that the RTI is an excellent tool for citizens to access information and to bring transparency in governance. “To make it better, the RTI act must have the mandatory appointment of the commissioner with no more than one-week vacancy,” he said. He suggests that the commissioner be appointed by the High Court as he does not see any hope from those appointed by the government.
“One great leap forward for TS is the launch of an online portal dedicated to receiving applications using the Right to Information Act. Though delayed by 18 years, it is a welcome move and can enhance transparency and accountability in administration, as underscored by Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, and Telangana Right to Information Rules, 2005,” said Madabhushi Sridhar Acharyulu, former Central Information Commissioner.
The portal, however, is not active as the training of the personnel concerned is underway. “The problem is that the government’s authorities are not readily available to common citizens. There is a continuous delay in giving information about public works, shortfalls, leaks in welfare schemes, etc. The government machinery is not interested in providing the information, and authorities send the applications to the next appellate (through second appeal) who are the higher officers in the same department. Routinely, the second appeal officers simply repeat the denial. It forces the appellant to go to Information Commissioners either in the state or at the central level. These officers themselves are not approachable,” he added.
“Under the RTI Act of 2005, it is mandatory to appoint not less than 10 Information Commissioners in the state as well as the central level,” he further added. “The term of the Chief Information Commissioner ended on April 21, 2022, and other commissioner posts are vacant as well. It is disgusting and discouraging. The situation is the same with other states and the Centre, except in a few cases,” he said.
Kareem Ansari, Project Manager at Yourti, explained how due to the lack of political will and a functional system, the citizens cannot exercise their right to information, “Yugantar, an NGO, started www.yourti.in in 2018 for citizens to put in applications for filing RTIs anonymously and free of cost. In cases where we do not receive proper replies, we approach the First Appellate Authority (FAA) of the particular department.
FAA, being an official working in the same department, works in line with the PIO, who has already frustrated the applicant with his vague and partial responses by then. The only recourse left is to approach the State Information Commission. Unfortunately, as of now, the Telangana State Information Commission has no commissioner. We had written a letter to the Honourable Governor of Telangana in March 2023 requesting her to see that the process of appointing the CIC begins as early as possible but to no avail.
Moreover, to dilute the RTI Act and to deliberately delay the process of providing information to the general public, the Telangana government issued a GO stating that the concerned PIO has to obtain the permission of the departmental Secretary before giving the information to a particular request. After eminent lawyers approached the High Court, the government withdrew that GO.”
Delay in appointment of Information Commissioner
“FAA, being an official working in the same department, works in line with the PIO, who has already frustrated the applicant with his vague and partial responses by then. The only recourse left is to approach the State Information Commission. Unfortunately, Telangana has no commissioner”
- Kareem Ansari, Yourti
Telangana’s online RTI portal was launched recently but remains inactive as the training of the personnel concerned is underway. Take a look at the challenges faced by RTI activists in accessing information through the RTI Act of 2005