-Press release by Satark Nagrik Sangathan dated October 11, 2022 Tomorrow (October 12, 2022) marks 17 years of implementation of the RTI Act in India. The law has empowered millions of people to seek information and hold the government accountable. Under the RTI law, information commissions are the final appellate authority and are mandated to safeguard and facilitate people’s fundamental right to information. Information commissions (ICs) have been set up at...
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Abrogation of Art 370 Halted Transparency Act in J&K -Raja Muzaffar Bhat
-Newsclick.in The SC has issued notice to the Centre over public authorities failing to disclose information under the central RTI Act, which applies to the region since 2019. Despite the rhetorical emphasis on e-governance, public authorities have failed to make suo moto information disclosures on their official websites in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country. In 2013, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) directed all public authorities to...
More »16th Years of RTI Act: Defunct Commissions, Huge Backlog
-Newsclick.in 2,55,602 appeals and complaints were pending in the 26 information commissions till June 30, according to a report. October 12 marked 16 years of the RTI Act, 2005. The law has empowered millions of citizens to seek information and hold the government accountable. Section3 of the Act states: “Subject to the provisions of this Act, all citizens shall have the right to information.” Under the Act, information commissions (ICs) are the final...
More »Fifteen RTI information commissioners write to CJI, urge action against courts staying orders of information commissioners
-Leaflet.in IN a letter dated September 9, 2021 by a group of 15 sitting and retired information commissioners addressed to the Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, the problem of high courts staying the orders of Information Commissioners has been highlighted, and the Supreme Court has been urged to take action on the same. In the letter, the information commissioners requested that directions be given to courts across the country to not...
More »In 15 years, RTI has gone from Indian citizens’ most powerful tool to an Act on life support -Maneesh Chhibber
-ThePrint.in Chief Information Commission and its state counterparts have an unwritten rule about not penalising erring public information officers who discourage RTI applicants. Fifteen years after it came into effect, promising a new era in transparency in government functioning, India’s Right to Information, or RTI, Act is dying a slow but certain death, with the executive letting go of no chance to hasten the process. According to an estimate, between 40 and 60...
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