Two years on, RTI Act a big hit

As it completes two years on Friday, the Right to Information (RTI) Act is creating history in Maharashtra. With a 70 per cent hike in applications in the past eight months, the state is now leading in information applicants across the globe.

The growth has been dubbed as a success of the State Information Commission’s (SIC) thrust on inclusive growth.

Between October 2005 and December 2006, 1,23,571 applicants were received in the state. In the past eight months, 93,611 applications were received. Information is now being sought on revenue, rural development and cooperative departments rather than urban development.

“The growing number of applicants from rural areas shows that our thrust of inclusive growth of the RTI Act has been achieved,” said Suresh Joshi, state chief information commissioner.

In a recent meeting with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Joshi asked the CM to ensure that all public bodies adopt a voluntary disclosure policy and share information through websites and display boards. “I am not happy with the functioning of the authorities who often do not share information within the stipulated 30 days,” said Joshi.