Maharashtra information chief Ratnakar Gaikwad hears 759 appeals in March, a record for one month

State chief information commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad has created a record of sorts. In the month of March, Gaikwad heard a total 759 appeals. The figure is reflected in the monthly statement which shows the appeals pending, the appeals heard and those disposed of.

On an average, about 40 appeals were heard in a day. "But it is very taxing," said Gaikwad.

While there is no minimum number of appeals to be heard, Shailesh Gandhi, the former central information commissioner, was credited with hearing the most number of 650 in a month.

The average number of appeals heard by the commission varies as the applications differ. The Maharashtra state information commission has been weighed down by an increasing number of second appeals which it is trying to complete as soon as possible. A total 31,578 appeals were pending as of March 2014 and some of them date back to 2011.

Nearly all the appeals heard by Gaikwad were from the Brihanmumbai bench where appeals have been mounting, thanks to the state government not appointing an information commissioner. The Brihanmumbai bench had the second highest number of appeals at 5,210 as of March. "We have finished hearing 2011 cases and 2012 will be over by July," Gaikwad told dna.

Ajitkumar Jain, the new information commissioner said recently that he would increase the number of hearings to 300 a month. "We will finish the 2012 appeals by July this year," Jain had told dna.

The commission believes that it can finish off cases of 2013 by the end of this year. "We are hopeful of achieving that figure," said Gaikwad.