The Gujarat Information Commission received a record 1.21 lakh applications in a year. Most of these applications were addressed to the home, urban development, and revenue departments.

During the year 2022-23, the number of applications received by the state departments and public authorities crossed a record number.

Out of the total 1,21,490 applications received, 4,762 applications were received directly by the departments while 1,16,728 were received by the authorities.

Applications received by public authorities include agriculture, civil supplies, panchayats, health, tribal development, and social justice departments.

Appeals and complaints

In this one year, the commission has received 7,138 appeals and 1,119 complaints, which comes to an average of 688 per month.

The report of the Gujarat Information Commission, presented in the Legislative Assembly showed that among the disposed applications, the proportion of appeals is 86.12% and the proportion of complaints is 13.88%. 

The number of appeals rose to 6,171 in the five departments of the government, namely panchayat, urban development, revenue, home, and education departments, while the rest were related to other departments.

Compared to the last two years, the number of appeals and complaints in the commission has increased by 488. 

In the case of appeals and complaints, the commission fined a total of 132 officials for violating the provisions of the Act, which totalled ₹11.34 lakh.

325 petitions that adversely affected national security, economic interests, and relations with foreign nations were rejected.

The Commission has noted that there are some anomalies in the number of applications received by the public authorities and therefore has requested the concerned departments to take steps to remove the errors. The Commission has also recommended the importance of using advanced technology in maintaining records.

It is worth noting that an appeal is filed when the applicant is not satisfied with the Public Information Officer's (PIO) answer or the PIO refuses to answer an application.

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