New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday praised the Central Information Commission for quicker disposal of RTI appeals and consistently bringing down the pendency rate.

The pendency has reduced from about 40,000 cases last year to around 27,000 cases at present, while the disposal of cases increased from 17,017 in 2020-21 to 28,901 in 2021-22, the Union Minister of State for Public Grievances said.

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Addressing the 14th Special General Body Meeting of the National Federation of Information Commissions of India (NFICI) at the CIC Bhawan here, Singh said that ever since the Modi government came into power in 2014, transparency, accountability and citizen-centricity became the hallmark of the governance model.

He said that in the last eight years, every conscious decision was taken to strengthen the independence and resources of the Information Commissions.

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Empowered citizens are an important pillar of democracy and the Central Information Commission will continue to work for empowering the people through information, Singh said.

"Transparency and accountability are very essential for democratic and participative governance and all steps will be taken to fulfill the aspirations and expectations of the people of India.

"Today, all major decisions and information are in public domain and we have achieved transparency with credibility, which is the hallmark of the Modi government," the minister said.

Singh said that the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic posed a serious challenge to many Information Commissions, including the Central Information Commission (CIC), but earnest efforts were made by them to dispose of the appeals and complaints.

He also mentioned that June 2020 saw a higher disposal of cases in CIC in comparison to the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

The minister said this became possible due to the innovative approach of shifting to virtual mode comprising audio and video for hearing and disposal of cases.

Singh also pointed out that it was during the challenging times of the pandemic in May 2020, the Central Information Commission started entertaining, hearing and disposing of RTIs from the newly-created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, through virtual means.

He said that applicants from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were allowed to file RTI applications from home and even for appeals to the CIC.

Consequent to the passing of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the erstwhile state's &K Right to Information Act, 2009, and the Rules there under were repealed and RTI Act 2005 and the Rules there under were enforced from October 31, 2019.

Now, non-domicile or non-state subjects of Jammu and Kashmir are also entitled to file RTIs related to the issues or agencies in the union territory, Singh said.

In his address, Y K Sinha, Chief Information Commissioner and president of the National Federation of Information Commissions in India said that it is important for the commissions to ensure that the full potential of the laws empowering the common man is realised.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)