PANAJI
Raising concern over misuse of the Right to Information Act (RTI) by some, the Central Chief Information Commissioner Heeralal Samariya Friday said that the excessive pleas under the act have led to disrupting and paralysing of the governance.
Samariya, who was in Goa, said that while 70-75% of RTI applicants are genuine, 20-30% allegedly exploit the system by filing an overwhelming number of applications, sometimes exceeding 1,000 in a year. “These excessive requests not only slow down the process but also disrupt governance,” he said.
Despite this, Samariya stated that the Act remains a crucial tool for addressing public grievances.
Claiming that almost 97% of RTI requests are resolved within the mandated timeframe of 30 days, Samariya admitted to the pendency of backlog.
"Around 2-3% of the applications go to the first appellate authority, while only 1-2% reach the second appeal stage for relief. The Central Information Commission alone receives nearly 20,000 cases annually," he said.
Meanwhile, in Goa, the State Information Commission has set a target of achieving zero pendency by the end of 2025. Goa’s Chief Information Commissioner, Arvind Nair, stated that the commission has significantly reduced hearings, limiting them to a maximum of three before discussions and decisions are made.
“We are trying to make the commission more genuine and information-seeker-friendly. That is our motto,” he said during the re-launch of the Goa State Information Commission website.
While technical challenges with online RTI filing persist, efforts are being made to streamline the system, he said.
