The Times of India: Mumbai: Thursday, June 21, 2012.
In the absence of a full-time state information commissioner for Konkan region, the number of appeals pending under the landmark Right To Information (RTI) Act till April this year had swollen to more than 1800. This was revealed by the office of the state information commissioner for Konkan region in reply to an RTI query filed by Navi Mumbai-based activist Santosh Shukla.
Shukla fears that the figure of pending appeals may not have dipped in May and June as well because Nashik information commissioner M H Shah, who holds additional charge for Konkan, is barely able to visit the office in Navi Mumbai once or twice a month.
Shah was given the additional charge following the retirement of Navin Kumar on August 16, 2011.
The pendency of appeals has swollen in 2012 in the state due to the delay on part of the Congress-NCP government to appoint the state chief information commissioner and commissioners for Mumbai and Konkan region. This appears to be the highest pendency of appeals in Maharashtra's history since the Act was enacted six years ago.
Such delay is not only costing the appellants but also defeating the purpose of the Act, said Shukla. "If each appellant has spent Rs 20 on court fee stamp, the total cost amounts to more than Rs 36,000. The total amount drawn as basic salary per month by the employees of the state information commission in Konkan region, apart from the commissioner, amounts to approximately Rs 1.5 lakh. The hard-earned taxpayer's money is going down the drain," he said.
Another activist Anil Galgali said, "It reflects apathy on part of state government. As per policy, the procedure for appointment of commissioner must start 45 days before the serving commissioner retires. It is a failure of the state government. The government is deliberately harming the Act."
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