📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Sharada Prasad CS
National
RTI Act Marks 21 Years as Commissions Grapple with Growing Backlog
✍️ The Economic Times
🗓 13 Oct 2026, 09:31 AM
👁 8
The Right to Information Act turns 21, yet information commissions nationwide are wrestling with a swelling backlog of applications and appeals, with Tripura’s commission facing severe delays and a parliamentary case projected to linger until 2046.
The Right to Information (RTI) Act, enacted in 2005, celebrated its 21st anniversary this year, marking over two decades of citizen‑driven transparency in India. While the milestone underscores the law’s role in empowering the public, recent data from the Central Information Commission reveals that the network of state and central information commissions is increasingly burdened by pending applications and appeals.
Across the country, commissions report a steady rise in backlogs, stretching the average resolution time for RTI queries well beyond the statutory 30‑day limit. Civil‑society groups have warned that the growing queue threatens the very purpose of the legislation, calling for additional staff, digital infrastructure upgrades, and stricter monitoring of pending cases.
In the northeastern state of Tripura, the situation is particularly acute. The Tripura State Information Commission has accumulated a large number of unresolved appeals, prompting officials to seek interim measures to clear the docket. One high‑profile appeal involving a Member of Parliament is expected, if current trends continue, to remain pending until as late as 2046.
Authorities acknowledge the challenge and have indicated that a review of commission capacities is underway. However, stakeholders stress that without immediate resource allocation, the backlog could erode public confidence in the RTI framework just as it reaches this significant anniversary.
Across the country, commissions report a steady rise in backlogs, stretching the average resolution time for RTI queries well beyond the statutory 30‑day limit. Civil‑society groups have warned that the growing queue threatens the very purpose of the legislation, calling for additional staff, digital infrastructure upgrades, and stricter monitoring of pending cases.
In the northeastern state of Tripura, the situation is particularly acute. The Tripura State Information Commission has accumulated a large number of unresolved appeals, prompting officials to seek interim measures to clear the docket. One high‑profile appeal involving a Member of Parliament is expected, if current trends continue, to remain pending until as late as 2046.
Authorities acknowledge the challenge and have indicated that a review of commission capacities is underway. However, stakeholders stress that without immediate resource allocation, the backlog could erode public confidence in the RTI framework just as it reaches this significant anniversary.