Karnataka MLAs frown upon 'misuse' of RTI Act by activists

Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil, who was replying on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, said the government had blacklisted 26 RTI activists.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government assured the Assembly on Tuesday that it would review the functioning of the Right to Information (RTI) Act after lawmakers across party lines said the law is being misused by activists to “harass” and “blackmail” officials.

Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said the state government can frame rules under the RTI Act. “If reviewing the rules can prevent harassment and benefit (genuine) RTI applicants, then we’ll discuss it,” he said.

Patil was responding to a question by Bailhongal Congress MLA Mahantesh Koujalagi on how the government is addressing the misuse of the RTI law.

“The law has a good intention, but it’s being equally misused. We see RTI applications being filed through proxies. Repeated applications are filed just to harass officials,” Koujalagi said. “People are seeking information worth 10-20 years. Government offices are forced to depute staff just for this purpose, which is causing problems,” he said.

Koujalagi also asked the government to hike RTI fees. “The cost per page is fixed at Rs 2. This itself is the problem. For BPL applicants, there’s no fee for up to 100 pages,” he said.

Former minister V Sunil Kumar said RTI was being used “more for personal interest and not public interest” and added that some activists were not allowing any government work to be carried out. “They take the information and give it to the Lokayukta,” the Karkala MLA said. “We should cap the amount of information a person can ask.”

Bijapur City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal said RTI had become “a big business” for some people. “They blackmail officials, elected representatives and contractors,” he said, adding that the government should investigate assets owned by RTI activists.

Hailing the RTI as a “very powerful weapon”, senior BJP lawmaker S Suresh Kumar said applicants should have a strong reason to seek information. “To seek information of plan sanctions in the entire Basaveshwarnagar ward won’t come under the ambit of the law,” he said.

Patil, the law minister who was replying on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, said the government had blacklisted 26 RTI activists. "We've also dismissed State Information Commissioner Ravindra Gurunath Dhakappa after he was trapped by the Lokayukta," he said. He also said that the government would considering hiking RTI fees.

Patil also revealed that not a single written complaint was received from officials against 'harassment' due to RTI applications.