Satark Nagrik Sangathan’s (SNS) Report

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Polity & Governance

Why in news?

With the Right to Information Act set to mark 20 years, a new SNS’s annual report on the performance of information commissions was released.

It assesses the performance of information commissions across the country.
Based on – Information accessed under 146 RTI applications to the SICs and the CIC under the RTI Act.

Key findings

Defunct commissions – 6 State Information Commissions (SICs) -in Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Tripura, and Madhya Pradesh were non-functional for varying periods due to the non-appointment of new commissioners.
The SICs of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar are functioning as understaffed.
Case backlog – The backlog is mounting, with Commissions only able to dispose of 1.8 lakh cases in a year with 2.4 lakh appeals.
Backlog resolution time – At the current rate, it would take the Telangana SIC over 29 years to dispose of a single new appeal filed on July 1, 2025.
New cases – Between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, 2.41 lakh new appeals and complaints were registered with the 27 commissions that provided data.
Annual report publication – The statutory administrative functions have not been observed in seriousness - 20 out of 29 commissions failed to publish an annual report for the 2023–24 fiscal year.
Penalties – Penalties were not imposed in 98% of cases where public information officers were potentially liable for delays or refusal of information.

Quick Fact

Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS)

It is a non-governmental organization, also known as Society for Citizens Vigilance Initiatives (SCVI).
Set up – In 2003.
Objectives - It is a citizens’ group with a mandate to promote transparency and accountability in government functioning and to ensure active participation of citizens in governance.
SNS creates awareness about the Right to Information Act, 2005 and seeks to enable citizens’ participation in governance by using the RTI law to obtain information about the various activities of the government.

References