In 2006, a year after the Right to Information Act was brought into effect, the pendency was just 635. In 2007, the pendency was 1,882. At that time the KIC claimed that it was the only Information Commission in the country with such low pendency. But by July end this year, the pendency touched an all-time high of 6,441 cases.
It is not that the disposal of cases in the KIC is low. In July, 1,198 were cases registered and 1,127 cases were disposed. But a sudden spurt in registration of appeals and complaints is contributing to the pendency. In May, the total number of complaints registered were around 2,400, which was quite higher than the disposal rate.
Though KIC sources claimed that the disposal rate is quite high in Karnataka and is unparalleled when compared to any other information commissions, the pendency is something that has concerned RTI activists. An RTI activist Veeresh Belur blamed the KIC, saying: “The Commission is not levying penalty on the public information officers, due to which the PIOs are least bothered about giving information to the people.” Another activist Vikram Simha felt that the lack of knowledge among the masses about the RTI Act is leading to the increase in pendency. “Many applicants ask those information, which the government departments declare on their own in public domain under Section 41 (B) of the RTI Act and when the departments deny giving information they approach the KIC. This is also increasing the pendency,” he said.
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