“The corporator threatened to launch a police complaint about the matter with which I have to do nothing. I have lost zeal to work...such threats are becoming common,” the officer said. The politicians, he alleged, were brazenly misusing the RTI Act and something need to be done to curb such misuse.

Incidents like these, pointed out RTI activists, reflect a growing tendency among politicians to misuse the RTI in civic corridors to blackmail and pressurise civic officials and even builders/developers in the city. Shaken by such events, RTI activists are coming together to curb misuse of the Act, meant to empower common citizen.

Said RTI activist Vivek Velankar, “The percentage of such people is very minimal. But they should not be allowed to misuse the Act. There is little scope for misuse of the Act, but even then if someone is misusing it we need to stub out such tendencies.”

Opposition leader Vikas Mathkari added, “RTI is misused by bad elements for political and economic gains. For some, it has become a tool of blackmailing. There is need to amend the Act to avoid its misuse.” Mathkari admitted that some politicians are misusing the information to extort money. “We can’t deny the fact that anti-social elements in the grab of politicians have found RTI the perfect tool for extortion.”