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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | RTI applications see a surge in State by S Rajendran

RTI applications see a surge in State by S Rajendran

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published Published on Aug 31, 2011   modified Modified on Aug 31, 2011

From 50 in 2005, the number of applications is expected to touch 15,000 this year

The Karnataka Information Commission has received, in recent weeks, a flood of applications for information under the Right to Information Act at public information offices (PIOs) across the State.

Factors

It would appear that the heightening of the anti-corruption mood in the country following the Anna Hazare movement, the report of the State Lokayukta against illegal mining that resulted in the fall of a Chief Minister, and the surge in corruption cases coming up in courts are the factors behind this surge in RTI applications.

The new-found activism has galvanised the functioning of the State Information Commission established in 2005. In the first year after it was constituted, the State Information Commission received around 50 applications, while it is expected to touch 15,000 this year.

Public information officers in various departments of the Government receive many more petitions than the commission since the latter only handles cases that have not received a satisfactory response at the level of the PIO.

Sources in the Information Commission told The Hindu that its work had almost doubled, with public information officers in some of the government departments being much in demand for information sought by petitioners.

There are an estimated 60,000 designated public information officers in the State. Any official vested with the responsibility of maintaining government records and files is designated as a public information officer in the department concerned.

‘More awareness'

“The awareness among the people about their right to obtain information has touched a new high, and we have to gear up to meet the demand. The effort will obviously help in a higher degree of transparency and in putting down corruption,” said D. Thangaraj, State Information Commissioner.

He said the PIOs constitute the backbone of the infrastructure in the implementation of the Right to Information Act.

Karnataka now has seven information commissioners, including the Chief Information Commissioner, and three more commissioners can be added should the workload demand. Five years ago there were only three commissioners, including the chief commissioner. The cases are referred to the commissioners by the chief commissioner, and there is no appellate authority.

# New-found activism has galvanised the functioning of the State Information Commission

# There are an estimated 60,000 designated public information officers in the State


The Hindu, 1 September, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2416235.ece


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