INTRODUCTION

The right to Information Act 2005 which came fully into

effect on 12th October 2005 is one of the most
significant legislation enacted by the Parliament in
India. It is a major step towards more accountable and
transparent government. RTI has been enacted to
provide for setting out the practical regime of right to
information for citizens to secure access to information
under the control of public authorities in order to
promote transparency and accountability. The Act will
certainly lead to end the culture of governmental
secrecy and fulfil its potential as a truly great
democracy.
FEATURES OF RTI

The Act extends to the whole of India except

Jammu & Kashmir. All citizens shall have the right
to information, subject to provisions of the Act.
The RTI empowers the citizens to ask any question
or seek any information from government
authorities be it Central, State or Local
governments. It shall apply to Public Authorities
which means any authority or body or institution
of self-government established or constituted by
or under the Constitution; by any law made by the
appropriate Government or, any other body
owned, controlled or substantially financed
directly or indirectly by the appropriate
Government, and includes non-government
organisation substantially financed by the
government. 165 The Act lays down the
machinery for the grant of access to information.
The Public Authorities are required to designate
Public Information Officer and Assistant Public
Information Officer with in the hundred days
Enactment to accept the request forms and
provide information. The Public Information
Officers/Assistant Public Information Officers will
be responsible to deal with the requests for
information and also to assist persons seeking
information. The Act envisages creation of an
independent non-judicial, Central Information
Commission, State Information Commission. Legal
Framework of exercise of powers by the
Commission is defined in the Act. The Act also
provides the two- tier Appellate forum. First
appeal is to be made to the departmental officer
senior to the Public Information Officer. The
second appeal is to be made to State Commission.
Fee will be payable by the applicant depending on
the nature of information sought. Time limit has
been prescribes for the compliance of information
depending upon the information requirements.
Certain categories of information have been
exempted from the disclosure under Section 8and
9 of the Act like conduct of International
Relations, security of the State, trade and
commercial secrets ,intelligence agency etc.
Central Information Commission and the State
Information Commissions monitor the
implementation of the Act and prepare an Annual
report to be laid before the Parliament / State
legislatures.
CONCLUSION:
RTI Act introduced in 2005 has proved to be a strong
weapon in the hands of people, for ensuring
transparency in government departments and containing
corruption. It is generally claimed as one of the world’s
best law with an excellent implementation track record.
It is one of the most empowering and most progressive
legislations passed in the post Independent India. Most
radical provision of the Act is that the information seek
need not to give any reason for it or prove his Locus
stand. From the day the Act came into force,
enlightened citizenry had stated using the law by
making information requests in order get the police to
act or get their entitlements of food grain under public
distribution system or expose the corrupt officials.
On the other hand, it suffers from various inadequacies.
The act empowers the people to gather information, But
illiteracy and lack of awareness surely hinders the
objective of the Act. Also, the act lacks necessary teeth
for defaulters. In cases where information has been
denied without sufficient cause, the penalty is not so
harsh enough so as to have a deterrent effect on those
who do not want to share information. The task of
implementing the law is not without major challenges.
Lack of adequate public awareness, especially in rural
areas, lack of proper system to store and disseminate
information, lack of capacity of the public information
officers (PIOs) to deal with the requests, bureaucratic
mindset and attitude etc. are still considered as major
obstacles in implementation of the law.
Currently, the RTI Act in India is passing through a
decisive phase, much more needs to be done to facilitate
its growth and development.