Context:  A report card has been brought out by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan and the Centre for Equity Studies to mark the 15th anniversary of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Key findings of the report card

Pending cases: More than 2.2 lakh RTI cases are pending at the Central and State Information Commissions, which are the final courts of appeal under the RTI law.

• Maharashtra had the highest number of pending appeals, with over 59,000 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (47,923) and the CIC (35,653).
• Rate of disposal: At the current rate of disposal, the Odisha Commission would take more than seven years to dispose of all pending complaints, while the CIC would take more than two years.

Vacancies of information commissioners: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has no chief, and only five commissioners. 

• Odisha is functioning with just four commissioners, while Rajasthan has only three. Jharkhand and Tripura have no commissioners at all, and have been defunct for months. 
• The State Information Commissions of Jharkhand and Tripura are defunct in the absence of any information commissioners.
• Under the law, every commission should have a chief and up to 10 commissioners.

Impunity: The government officials face hardly any punishment for violating the law. Penalties were imposed in only 2.2% of cases that were disposed of.
Concerns

• The non-appointment of commissioners in the Information Commissions in a timely manner leads to a large build-up of pending appeals and complaints.
• Non-imposition of penalties in deserving cases by commissions promotes a culture of impunity among public authorities.
• The Commissioners are appointed by the State government, there is a conflict of interest when queries are posed to them. They tend to be pro-government.
• RTI and Coronavirus crisis: If the poor and marginalised affected by the public health emergency are to have any hope of obtaining the benefits of government schemes, they must have access to relevant information.
• RTI amendments: The Centre has brought in an Amendment that effectively reduces the independent powers of the Information Commission. 
• At a time when incentives for secrecy are great, and the scope for discretionary actions wide, the role of information commissions is crucial to ensure that people can obtain information on healthcare facilities, social security programs and delivery of essential goods and services meant for those in distress.

RTI Act 2005

• Right to Information Act 2005 mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information, barring a few exempted categories such as information which might affect the sovereignty of the country or private information which might have a bearing on a person’s right to privacy.

Authorities under RTI Act

• The Central Information Commission (CIC) is set up under the Right to Information Act.
• The Chief Information Commissioner heads the Central Information Commission.
• This body hears appeals from persons who have not been satisfied by the public authority, and also addresses major issues related to the RTI Act.

Appointment: The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of—

• The Prime Minister, who shall be the Chairperson of the committee;
• The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha; and
• A Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

Tenure: In the case of the Information Commissioners they are appointed for five years subject to the age limit of 65 years. 

• The Information Commissioner and CIC were made on a par with the Election Commissioner and the CEC, respectively. 

Process of RTI complaint

• When the initial request for information made to a public information officer, designated by each public authority, fail, the petitioner is entitled to lodge an appeal to an authority within the department concerned. 
• When that fails too, a further appeal can be made to the office of the CIC or the State Information Commission.