Pending Cases at Haryana State Information Commission

• 18 Feb 2025

Why in News? 

According to a Right to Information (RTI) reply, the Haryana State Information Commission is handling a backlog of over 7,000 appeal cases. Authorities have yet to recover Rs 2.84 crore, as the penalty imposed on State Public Information Officers (SPIOs) for delays in providing information. 

 Key Points 

• Pending Appeal Cases: 
  • It was revealed that 8,340 appeal cases were pending before the Chief Information Commissioner and seven State Information Commissioners in January 2024.  
  • By December 2024, the number decreased to 7,216, with only around 1,000 cases resolved in a year. 
• Limited Awareness Campaigns:  
  • According to the RTI reply, only five workshops have been conducted since 2005, with 896 participants, the last of which was held in Panchkula in 2011. 
• Penalty and Recovery Details: 
  • Over the last 20 years, the Commission imposed Rs 5.86 crore in penalties across 3,611 cases for delays in providing information.  
    • However, only Rs 2.84 crore has been recovered so far. 
  • The Commission has awarded Rs 92 lakh in compensation across 1,974 cases for the failure to provide information in a timely manner. 

 The Right to Information (RTI) Act 

• About: 
  • The Right to Information Act 2005 mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information. 
  • The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in a real sense. 
• Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019: 
  • It provided that the Chief Information Commissioner and an Information Commissioner (of Centre as well as States) shall hold office for such term as prescribed by the Central Government. Before this amendment, their term was fixed for 5 years. 
  • It provided that the salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Chief Information Commissioner and an Information Commissioner (of Centre as well as States) shall be such as prescribed by the Central Government. 
  • It removed the provisions regarding deductions in salary of the Chief Information Commissioner, an Information Commissioner, the State Chief Information Commissioner and a State Information Commissioner due to pension or any other retirement benefits received by them for their previous government service. 
  • The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 was criticized on grounds of diluting the law and giving more powers to the central government.