Economic
Times: New Delhi: Saturday, 14 March 2015.
Even as the
Central Information Commission stares at an unprecedented pendency of cases
with applicants waiting in queue for up to four years to be heard, the report
card of Information Commissioners has quite a few red marks. None of the seven
information commissioners has met the average disposal target over the last one
year.
Data compiled
by ET reveals that in the current financial year, two of the seven information
commissioners - MA Khan Yusufi and Basant Seth - did not meet the monthly
average disposal target even once. In 2011, the Commission had set a target of
disposing on an average 267 cases in a month. Information Commissioners Vijai
Sharma, Sharat Sabharwal and Manjula Prasher have met this target only once
between April 2014 and March 2015. MS Acharyulu finishes at the top of the
chart having met the target five times and Yashovardhan Azad finishes a close
second with meeting the target four times.
RTI activists
feel that the Commissioners would need to work harder. RTI activist Lokesh Batra,
who has been studying CIC's workload and performance of commissioners, says,
"Each one of ICs needs to feel responsible and accountable for his/her
performance to the people and if required go beyond the laid down working
routine of 9.30 am to 6 pm to complete targets."
The
Commission has always worked five days in a week. However, Batra says just like
in courts, at least the registry must function six days and the commissioners
should use this sixth day to study cases and draft their decisions. RTI activist
Subhash Agrawal says, "Disposing of 267 cases in a month is their own
target. It is absolutely wrong to not meet the target they had set for
themselves. Another problem that an applicant is facing right now is the delay
in giving decisions. Even after an applicant is heard, he is made to wait for
months for a decision. "