1 week Ago By Nisha Nambiar
1 2 3 Pune: With over one lakh RTI cases pending across Maharashtra, activists have demanded swifter resolution mechanisms even as state govt proposes to fill information commissioner posts that have remained unoccupied for months. The state recently advanced a proposal to appoint four information commissioners, including a chief information commissioner — a position that has been vacant for more than a year. While activists welcomed this development, they maintained that comprehensive reforms were needed.
"Govt's move to fill these positions is necessary but not sufficient," said RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar. "We need a structured, time-bound framework to address the massive backlog of over one lakh pending appeals and complaints. Citizens have been suffering without updates on their applications for far too long.
" Kumbhar's organisation, RTI Katta, initiated contempt proceedings against govt for failing to address these vacancies despite a mounting crisis. The final hearing was on March 26. Activists have sought an updated online portal displaying real-time data on pending cases by division and daily resolution rates.
They also advocated for continuing virtual hearings, which began during the pandemic. "To efficiently clear the backlog, video conferencing should be standard practice, similar to court proceedings," said Vihar Durve, another RTI activist. "This would significantly accelerate the hearing process.
" Currently, just four commissioners manage all eight state benches, leading to substantial delays. Most second appeals have been pending for over a year. State govt has proposed the appointment of Rahul Pande, former Nagpur information commissioner and ex-journalist with Hitavada newspaper, as chief information commissioner.
Other nominees include Gajanan Nimdev (editor of Nagpur's Tarun Bharat), Ravindra Thakaray (former civil servant and ex-collector of Nagpur), and Prakash Indalkar (retired deputy secretary). The proposal has been forwarded to the governor for clearance, a senior state govt official said on Monday. Dr Pradeep Vyas, Mumbai's information commissioner, currently holds additional charge as chief information commissioner.
Similarly, Pune's commissioner Makrand Ranade manages Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division, while Nashik's Bhupendra Gurav oversees Nagpur. "The backlog represents 1 lakh citizens who are waiting for justice," Kumbhar added. "We'll judge these appointments by whether pendency numbers drop significantly and whether officials who withhold information face appropriate penalties.
" Ideally, he said, considering the current pendency, at least 11 full-time commissioners are needed to address these issues effectively. Shekhar Channe, Konkan RTI commissioner who holds the additional charge of Amravati, acknowledged that the new appointments would allow commissioners to focus better on their regions rather than managing multiple divisions simultaneously. "Additional filling up of posts iss essential to help clear up cases,''he told TOI.
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