Odisha RTI Backlog: Pending Cases Drop from 22,000 to 5,500

27 Oct 2026, 09:55 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Bhubaneswar: A sustained administrative drive has cleared three-quarters of the pending caseload before the Odisha Information Commission, bringing unresolved Right to Information appeals down from 22,000 to 5,500 over the past 18 months.

The state’s transparency watchdog shared the turnaround during an official courtesy meeting with Odisha Governor Brajmohan Ram at Lok Bhawan on Monday. State Chief Information Commissioner Manoj Parida led the five-member commission delegation, accompanied by Commissioners Jagannath Rath, Pranabindu Acharya, Pabitra Mandal, and Kalpana Pattnaik.

The sharp decline in unresolved disputes follows structural shifts in how the quasi-judicial body processes public appeals. Most notable among them is an accelerated adjudication process: the commission now delivers short orders on the exact day an appeal is heard, doing away with the protracted post-hearing delays that traditionally clog statutory appeal systems.

To bridge geographical hurdles for applicants outside the state capital, the panel instituted virtual hearings through video conferencing. The setup spares citizens from distant rural and interior districts the financial burden and logistical trouble of journeying to Bhubaneswar for adjudication.

Access barriers were tackled through linguistic and procedural interventions as well. All hearing proceedings are now conducted natively in the Odia language to keep matters comprehensible to ordinary petitioners. Complementing this is an end-to-end digital pipeline, allowing citizens to file appeals online and access uploaded rulings directly.

Enforcement of commission directives has tightened in tandem with faster disposals. The delegation noted to the Governor that wherever public authorities fail to implement the statutory orders, instances of non-compliance are escalated directly to the Chief Secretary to initiate administrative measures against defaulting departments.

Capacity building formed another key leg of the commission’s recent operational transition. Close to 300 law student interns have undergone structured orientation and practical training on Right to Information procedures, building a cadre of future legal professionals grounded in transparency governance.