Open to review of RTI rules, says Karnataka Govt after legislators allege misuse

Indian Express

2 days ago

With several legislators cutting across party lines alleging misuse of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Karnataka Government said on Tuesday that it was open to reviewing the rules under the Act to prevent harassment and blackmailing of officials.
The discussion on the RTI Act followed a question raised in the legislature by Congress MLA Mahantesh Koujalagi, who sought to know whether the Government would initiate action against those misusing the legislation by targeting officials.
Responding on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government can amend rules framed under the Act. 'If we come to know about the misuse, we can take action. If harassment can be prevented by reviewing the rules and if it benefits the genuine RTI activists, we can discuss,' he said, noting that the Government would think about steps to limit the misuse of the RTI Act.
Koujalagi suggested the Government hike RTI fees as a measure to curb the misuse, adding that RTI applications were being filed through proxies. 'Multiple applications are filed by some people just to harass officials. The cost per page is fixed at Rs 2. This is causing the problem. For BPL applicants, there is no fee for up to 100 pages. This is leading to a lot of misuse,' he said.
Patil noted that the Government had blacklisted 26 RTI activists, apart from dismissing State Information Commissioner Ravindra Gurunath Dhakappa after the Lokayukta arrested him for allegedly taking a bribe from a blacklisted RTI applicant.
BJP MLA Sunil Kumar alleged that some activists were not allowing any government work to be carried out. 'They collect the information and share it with the Lokayukta. Even public work is not happening because of these RTI activists. We should make some rules,' he said, suggesting a limit for the number of applications a person can file.