Ever since the Right to Information (RTI) Act was enacted, the Information Commission has been seeing a significant rise of complaints by those who are not being responded by the government organisations when contacted for information under the act.
It appears that the concerned government agencies, departments or offices are not helping the complainants benefit from the much-talked-about RTI Act.
Merely 104 complaints were filed with the commission in 2010, a year after the act was enacted, while the figure jumped to 540 last year.
In the first six-year span till 31 December 2016, the commission recorded as many as 1,778 cases with 1,085 of them dissolved over the period.
104 out of 202 complaints were settled in 2012, whereas 207 complaints were lodged the next year, of which 90 were resolved.
In 2014, the number of complaints stood at 294 when 124 of them got disposed off. The complaints kept continuing an upward trend in 2015 with 336 allegations, resulting to the resolution to 67 complaints.
Meanwhile, out of 540, some 120 complaints were settled thought 2016.
The figures clearly depict that the number of complaints kept soaring in course of time.
Chief Information Commissioner Professor Dr MD Golam Rahman termed the increase of the complaints a positive sign on growing awareness amongst the people about the act.
“Citizens now more aware about their fundamental rights than ever before. They are also concerned well about their right to information, which is an inseparable part of their rights,” he observed.
Mohammad Masum Miya, a journalist based in Dhaka, said: “This year I needed to have some information relating to the banking sector. Accordingly, I contacted to the commission seeking its help in this regard and succeeded 22 days after my appeal.”
There has also been criticism over the commission’s role in supporting the complaints at their very first attempt to resolve their issues.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environmentalist Lawyers Association (Bela) said she has been seeking information from different government offices, but in vain in most of the cases.
“Since 2009 when the act was passed, I approached to many government offices for information, causing me to remain unsuccessful in most of the times,” she added.
Sharing her experience of being deprived of the figure of fatalities at ship-breaking yards by the respective ministry, the environmentalist alleged that the commission too did not cooperate her in this regard despite objecting.
The RTI Act passed in the House on March 29, 2009 is considered a milestone in the legal history of Bangladesh. This is the first act after independence of Bangladesh that ensures people’s right to obtain information from the government officials and other organisations. This act covers all bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed either directly or indirectly by the government and NGOs and the principal bodies substantially funded by the government.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
