A Comparative Analysis of RTI Acts in India and Pakistan: Lessons Learnt and Way Forward

Abstract

In both India and Pakistan, the Right to Information (RTI) Acts are enacted laws focused on the same goal, transparency and accountability in one way or another, and a means to promote public access to records held by these authorities with an increased participatory role for the citizenry in a democracy. RTI laws have the potential to help reduce corruption, enhance governance, promote the economy, and bring about responsive and accountable institutions since they give citizens the legal right to access public information held by government bodies. These laws have the potential to enable citizens by giving them the tools to hold government actors accountable for their actions, generate more informed public discussions, and ultimately reinforce democracy. Yet, their full, effective implementation has faced grave challenges in both India and Pakistan. This paper aims to evaluate the existing state of RTI practices in India and Pakistan. More specifically, it seeks to assess the achievement of RTI Acts in improving citizens' access to information and to recognize the key factors that drive success or failure. It aims at providing a cross country analysis of how these laws are being executed in practical terms, ensuring that they are serving the intended purpose of more transparency, accountability and public engagement in the governance process. In addition, the study examines the obstacles to implementation, investigating issues such as bureaucratic inefficiencies, resource availability, political interference, public awareness, and government agency willingness to share information. A key finding of the study is that RTI laws are often not used due to administrative dysfunction, procedural barriers, and lack of public awareness, despite their potential to address a number of social problems. RTI laws are intended as a strong tool for citizens to procure information from government bodies, but many citizens found it difficult to file RTI requests, the study says. These challenges include unclear processes, slow turnaround times from government employees, the absence of adequate systems for processing requests and, in some instances, the deliberate obfuscation or delay in responding to requests for information. In addition, it stresses the need for a wholesome, institutional and strategic approach to ensure that the RTI laws are implemented and used, and that RTI legislation alone will not give citizens the right to information.

Based on the implications of the findings, this study makes a number of key recommendations. It ends with a call, among others, for strong, sustainable infrastructure to implement RTI laws. These reforms encompass the establishment of dedicated RTI units in government departments, the formulation of specific guidelines and standard operating procedures for processing requests, as well as the creation of an online system for citizens to file RTI requests and track their status accordingly.