RTI appeals pile up at headless panels in Karnataka

Nearly 31,000 Right to Information (RTI) appeals are pending in Karnataka and the majority of them — 19,131 — are from the Information Commission benches in Belagavi and Kalaburagi.

Since April this year, the Belagavi bench does not have an information commissioner. The Kalaburagi bench has an information commissioner, but is working from Bengaluru as the state government could not find a suitable building to house the commissioner's office there.

In April, when the then Belagavi bench information commissioner Geetha resigned from the post, the bench had 7,783 pending cases and by November 30, it touched 12,434. Sources in the State Information Commission informed DH that on average, the Belagavi bench reports 500-700 appeals a month.

Cases come before these benches after the applicant fails to get the required information under the RTI Act. The commissioner has the power to direct the officer concerned to provide the information and also levy penalties or jail terms to the officer if the information is withheld due to a mala fide intention.

There are 10 such benches in the state out of which nine are functional, all in Bengaluru (including the Kalaburagi bench working from the state capital).

The chief minister-headed committee consisting of the Leader of the Opposition in Assembly (LOA) and a minister of the CM’s choice selects information commissioners.

Highly placed sources in the Karnataka Information Commission told DH that the process of receiving applications, scrutinising and screening of candidates has been completed. "All it requires is a meeting of the CM and the LOA to approve the name," they said.

An activist said the prolonged vacancy in the information commissioner's post will defeat the very purpose of the RTI bill.

RTI applicant Srinivasgouda Patil from Belagavi said most of the appeals reach the benches as the officials refuse to provide credible information to hide their irregularities. "State Information Commission is the only state-level office functioning from the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi. However, this too has become 'headless' for the last seven months. By denying speedy resolution of cases, the political class — both ruling and Opposition parties — are encouraging corrupt officials," he said.

Justice denied

Deepak Gala, an RTI activist from Kalaburagi, said the functioning of the Kalaburagi bench from Bengaluru is of little help to the people of Kalyana Karnataka region. "The very purpose of starting the Kalaburagi bench was to ensure that justice reaches the needy. It is shameful that the government is unable to find a building in the entire Kalaburagi city to house this office," he said and added that though online hearings of the cases is taking place from Bengaluru, the real losers are the rural masses where network coverage is poor and not many are aware of the process.

Sources in the State Information Commission informed DH that the state government, which had earlier identified the old PWD office to house the bench, later withdrew its order. "The search is on for a new building," said the senior officer.

Repeated attempts to reach out to Law Minister J Madhuswamy and Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (DPAR) officials failed as they were busy with the winter session in Belagavi.