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Pending pleas 'assuring' Public Information Officers of no action

As per the RTI Act, an applicant has to be given information within 30 days of his applying.

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Pending appeals at the state information commission, say RTI applicants and activists, is re-assuring public information officers (PIOs) that no action will be taken against them and hence applicants, in turn, are more often not getting information.

The activists say that PIOs do not feel the urgency or fear of penal action for not replying to RTI applications because the only authority that has penalizing power is not likely to hear the case anytime soon as waiting period is of over a year. The other is that when it does, it has been lenient.

As per the RTI Act, an applicant has to be given information within 30 days of his applying. If the information is to be denied, relevant sections of exemptions are to be informed to the applicant. If the applicant does not get information, he can file the first appeal and if the applicant is still not satisfied with the information given to him, he can file a second appeal. Commission can fine up to Rs 25,000 if complete information was not given on time without mentioning exemptions if cited to not give information.

"It has become very common that applicants are denied information. This is also because commissions are not hearing cases. Commissioners should ensure that they hear a case within 90 days. If this does not happen, RTI will become weak," said Shailesh Gandhi, former central information commissioner.

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