Times of India: Madurai: Monday, 11Th August
2025.
The Tamil Nadu RTI Activists' Movement held its state-level conference at the Tamukkam Convention Centre here on Sunday, passing 20 resolutions to strengthen the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and expand its scope.
Former RTI chairman E M S
Sudarshana Nachiyappan said exemptions for "sensitive information"
had no place in today's information era. "The government should not
withhold information when an RTI is filed," he said, citing how RTI had revealed
₹840 crore spent by the Prime Minister on official overseas tours. He noted
that an RTI seeking details on China's reported occupation of 10,000 sq km of
Indian territory was rejected on "sensitive information" grounds,
despite the data being visible on GPS.
Key resolutions included proactive disclosure under Section 4(1)(B) of the RTI Act, faster transfer of applications between departments, protecting applicants' personal details, and penalising public information officers who unlawfully deny requests. Activists also sought to bring private institutions providing essential services under the Act, hold monthly grievance redressal meetings at the district level, and live-stream information commission hearings.
The conference urged the state government to direct all cooperative societies to comply with RTI provisions, expand the online RTI portal to cover all public authorities, and publish annual information commission reports within a year of the financial year's end. They also called for appointing politically unbiased commissioners with integrity and legal expertise.
Other demands included requiring first appellate authorities to conduct direct hearings to resolve most cases locally, handling complaints strictly under Section 18(1) instead of converting them into second appeals and giving priority hearings to senior citizens.
As part of the event, activists filed 5,000 RTI applications across various state departments. Organiser Abdul said the resolutions aimed to make governance more transparent, curb misuse of "sensitive" exemptions, and uphold citizens' right to know in letter and spirit.
The Tamil Nadu RTI Activists' Movement held its state-level conference at the Tamukkam Convention Centre here on Sunday, passing 20 resolutions to strengthen the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and expand its scope.
Key resolutions included proactive disclosure under Section 4(1)(B) of the RTI Act, faster transfer of applications between departments, protecting applicants' personal details, and penalising public information officers who unlawfully deny requests. Activists also sought to bring private institutions providing essential services under the Act, hold monthly grievance redressal meetings at the district level, and live-stream information commission hearings.
The conference urged the state government to direct all cooperative societies to comply with RTI provisions, expand the online RTI portal to cover all public authorities, and publish annual information commission reports within a year of the financial year's end. They also called for appointing politically unbiased commissioners with integrity and legal expertise.
Other demands included requiring first appellate authorities to conduct direct hearings to resolve most cases locally, handling complaints strictly under Section 18(1) instead of converting them into second appeals and giving priority hearings to senior citizens.
As part of the event, activists filed 5,000 RTI applications across various state departments. Organiser Abdul said the resolutions aimed to make governance more transparent, curb misuse of "sensitive" exemptions, and uphold citizens' right to know in letter and spirit.
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