Information dissemination requires a decentralised mechanism to make it more accessible. Therefore, the Right to Information Act, 2005 provided for the constitution of State Information Commissions at the State level.

Composition of State Information Commissions

The State Information Commission consists of-

• A State Chief Information Commissioner and
• Not more than 10 State Information Commissioners.

Appointment and qualifications of State Information Commissions

The members of State Information Commission are appointed by the Governor of the respective states, on the recommendation of a Selection Committee comprising:

• Chief minister of the State ( chairperson)  
• Leader of opposition in the Legislative Assembly
• A State Cabinet minister will be appointed by the Chief Minister.

The qualifications for State chief Information Commissioner and the other State Information Commissioners are the same as that of members of the Central Information Commission.

Tenure and Removal of State Information Commissions

As per RTI Rules, 2019 the members of the State Information Commission hold office for three years.

The Governor has the authority to remove the State Chief Information Commissioner and other members in the same manner and for the same reasons as those established for the Central Information Commissioner and information commissioners at the national level.

Powers and functions of State Information Commission

According to RTI Act, 2005 the State Information Commission performs such functions at the state level, which are performed by the Central Information Commission at the central level.

Challenges faced by State Information Commissions

As per Satark Nagrik Sangathan (A society for citizen’s vigilance initiative), following challenges are faced by State Information Commissions in discharging their functions:

• Non-functional Commissions: According to the report, the Information Commission of some states like Jharkhand and Tripura are completely defunct. In the absence of any functionaries, the information seekers are unable to access the information as per the provisions of RTI Act, 2005.
• Appointment of Information Commissioners: As per the provisions of the RTI act, the Information Commissioners should be appointed from diverse backgrounds like social service, journalism etc. however, the report findings state that majority of information Commissioners have been appointed amongst retired government servants.
• Lack of gender parity:  Since the inception of RTI Act, 2005 only 10% of Information Commissioners across the country are women. This shows the skewed representation of women in the Commissions.
• Pendency of cases: Nearly 3,14,323 cases are pending before 26 State Information Commissions in the country, with Maharashtra having the highest backlog (100000 cases). This requires information seekers to wait for months or sometimes years for their cases to be heard.
• Imposition of penalties:  The State Information Commissions imposed penalties in just 3% of the cases disposed of by them. This shows reluctance on part of Commissions to penalise public officials. This defeats the whole purpose of the grievance redressal mechanism. Karnataka imposed the highest number of penalties on public officials.

The Supreme Court in its judgement (2019) said that – Information Commissioners are vital for smooth working of the RTI Act, 2005. Hence, the State Information Commissions should introspect themselves and try to bring desired reforms to act as strong proponents of transparency.