RTI climbs a notch higher, compensation claims go up

Spurt in claims made by applicants under section 19.8(b) of the RTI Act, amount sought also on the higher side.

Right to Information (RTI), borne out of the need to shake officialdom out of its lethargy has taken a bumpy road, with complaints and counter-complaints aplenty. There had been allegations about officials not giving the required information within the given deadline, or about many frivolous and unnecessary RTI petitions.

There was a view that some officials perceived RTI as a fringe obligation and not part of their serious duty. On the other hand, there were insinuations that many applicants used RTI as a tool to further their greed, or to intimidate.

Of late, another phenomenon is being witnessed. There has been a spurt in claims of compensation made by applicants under section 19.8(b) of the RTI Act (Chapter V).

Applicants who do not get replies to their queries within the set deadline are empowered to seek compensation. The basic idea, according to an RTI activist, should be to make up for the loss of money and time of the applicant and similar considerations.

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Officials, however, are witnessing a “drastic” increase in demand for compensation. Many of them say that the number of compensation claims has gone up after the State Information Commissioner (Konkan) ordered the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) in November to pay Rs 5 lakh to an applicant.

Thanksi Thekkekara, SIC, Konkan, issued the order while hearing the second appeal against the power distribution company. The applicant had sought information about a transformer installed on his land, which the applicant claimed was done without his prior permission. MSEDCL had failed to provide the documents and the SIC fined the PIO and awarded the applicant a compensation as per section 19.8(b).

“While the RTI law has a provision for compensation it has been rarely invoked and the amount was not too high. Overall compensation clause is rarely used,” said a senior official with SIC, Pune. Konkan SIC’s compensation is supposed to be the highest since promulgation of the RTI Act in the state.

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Following the November decision, a 20 per cent increase in applicants seeking compensation has been seen. The claims have been made during the second appeal and the amount has increased from a few thousand rupees to tens of thousands or more. “Following publicity of the order, many people especially those in urban areas started claiming similar compensation against revenue, food supply, electricity and industry departments,” said the officer.

SIC looks into the merit of each case before taking a decision. Officers pointed out that in some cases, people asked for compensation for paper, stamps, pen and other stationery they used for filing applications.

RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said compensation awarded by SICs should be judicious.

“The compensation should be in step with loss or mental harassment faced by the applicant. Otherwise it would appear like a punishment,” he said.

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More

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