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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Maha to usher in 2012 with worst RTI backlog by Prafulla Marpakwar

Maha to usher in 2012 with worst RTI backlog by Prafulla Marpakwar

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published Published on Dec 18, 2011   modified Modified on Dec 18, 2011

The new year is off to a bad start for the state as far as the Right To Information (RTI) Act is concerned.

The pendency of appeals under the landmark Act will cross the 20,000 mark on January 1, 2012, thanks to the failure of the Congress-NCP government to appoint the chief information commissioner as well as commissioners for Mumbai and Konkan region.

This will be the highest pendency of appeals in Maharashtra's history since the Act was enacted six years ago.

"We were pioneers in enacting the landmark legislation in 2005. Unfortunately, the state government has been deliberately delaying filling up the vacant posts. As a result, the pendency of appeals before commissioners and the chief commissioner will cross the 20,000 mark at the beginning of the next year," a senior information commissioner told TOI on Saturday. "This defeats the basic purpose of legislation as information will be made available to the applicant after two to three years. It will have no relevance then."

After chief information commissioner Vilas Patil retired on June 25, Pune information commissioner Vijay Kuvalekar was given the additional charge. Kuvalekar's appointment has not been regularized and he is due for retirement on January 31, 2012.

Following the retirement of Konkan information commissioner Navin Kumar on August 16, Nashik information commissioner M H Shah, a former secretary in the public works department, was given the additional charge.

Similarly, following suspension of Mumbai information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari on January 11 over his alleged involvement in the Adarsh scam, the charge was given to Amravati information commissioner Bhaskar Patil.

"Prima facie, it appears the entire institution of information commission is working on ad hoc basis, resulting in huge pendency of appeals across the state. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan should step in and recommend names for the post of CIC and information commissioners to the governor," he said.

Under the RTI Act, a committee comprising the CM, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse is supposed to recommend to the governor names for the post of the CIC and information commissioners for appointment.

"We will take it up with the CM and are keen that appointments are made on a priority basis," Khadse said.

Kuvalekar has already written to the governor, urging him to take immediate steps to fill up the posts. Apparently, Kuvalekar's letter has been forwarded to chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad.

A senior Congress minister said there's been a delay in appointments due to intense lobbying by retiring bureaucrats.

Times View

The Right To Information Act was hailed as India's sunshine Act when it was enforced. This instrument of transparency has empowered the ordinary, seemingly powerless citizen to take on the monolithic system that is largely seen to be slow in moving, if not totally anti-citizen and corrupt. But such a huge backlog defeats the very purpose of the Act. It can create despondency among applicants for many of whom this is the last hope in their fight against the system, and breed cynicism. The government must step in, increase the strength of the bench and do everything it can to retrieve the situation.


The Times of India, 18 December, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Maha-to-usher-in-2012-with-worst-RTI-backlog/articleshow/11151148.cms


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