Wait for RTI hearings is now down to 18 months

DNA: Mumbai: Wednesday, November 07, 2012.

There is some respite for RTI appellants in the city who are waiting endlessly for their appeals to be heard by the state chief information commission. The waiting time has reduced by half from an average three years to about 18 months.

If things go well, as the state chief information commissioner expects, they may not have to wait for more than three months from April. That’s still a far cry from the stipulated 30-day period in which applicants are supposed to get the information they seek.

According to information available, the state chief information commissioner’s bench has recently completed hearing appeals from 2009 and 2010. In all, the appeals in these two years were around 1,500. Now, the bench has started hearing of the cases from 2011. There are around 859 appeals. In 2012, there have been 1,933 cases registered till October.

“By April next year, we are looking forward to taking up fresh appeals of 2013. We look forward to bringing it down to a stage where appeals can be heard without any waiting period,” said Ratnakar Gaikwad, state chief information commissioner.

“The state chief information commission may be hearing appeals at a faster rate, but other benches are not doing as many clearings. Other benches also need to take quicker decisions, or else the state’s clearing will not improve,” said Bhaskar Prabhu, RTI activist.