New Rules Increase Application Costs, Introduce Appeal Fees and Citizenship Proof Requirement
Pune | June 17 | Rayat Samachar
(Public Issue) Senior Right to Information (RTI) activist Vijay Kumbhar has strongly criticized the Maharashtra government’s newly implemented rules governing the RTI Act, alleging that they make citizens’ constitutional right to access information more difficult and effectively weaken the law.
(Public Issue) Elaborating on his concerns, Kumbhar stated that obtaining information under RTI was already a challenging process for many citizens. However, the newly introduced rules could push the RTI mechanism to the brink of irrelevance. Under the new regulations, applicants are reportedly required to state the reason for seeking information. According to Kumbhar, this undermines the fundamental principle of the RTI Act, which does not require citizens to justify their requests.
(Public Issue) The revised rules increase the RTI application fee from ₹10 to ₹30, representing a 200 percent hike. Charges for A4-size photocopies have been raised from ₹2 to ₹5 per page. Digital and scanned copies will also attract a fee of ₹5 per page.
Additionally, applicants will have to pay ₹50 for a first appeal and ₹100 for a second appeal. Proof of Indian citizenship must now be attached with the application. Citizens will be allowed to seek information on only one subject per application, and the description of the information sought must be limited to approximately 150 words, Kumbhar noted.
Expressing concern over these provisions, Kumbhar argued that the new requirements would make the RTI process more expensive and complicated for ordinary citizens. He emphasized that the Right to Information is the lifeblood of democracy and warned that increasing barriers to access information weakens public accountability. If democracy is to be protected, he said, citizens must unite to defend the RTI Act.
The new rules are expected to draw strong reactions from social activists, journalists, legal experts, and organizations advocating transparency and accountable governance.
