Nearly 24,000 second appeals, complaints pending with Central Information Commission, says Union minister Jitendra Singh

New Delhi: Nearly 24,000 complaints and second appeals are pending with transparency watchdog Central Information Commission (CIC), the government said on Wednesday. Systems at 2,200 public authorities or central government departments have been aligned to receive, process and reply to online RTIs from applicants, it said.

“The Cental Information COmmission has informed that 23,978 complaints and second appeals are pending as of 26 July, 2018,” Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. No such data is maintained in respect to state information commissions, he said.

“State governments have been advised to explore the feasibility of implementing online RTI portal in their states. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been advised to provide technical support to the states desirous of replicating the web portal of the department of personnel and training for online filing of RTI applications,” the minister said.

The Right to Information (RTI) Act allows citizens to seek a time-bound response to their plea seeking information on governance matters from the government departments. They can file a second appeal and complaint under the law in case they are aggrieved over the response by government departments concerned.