RTI for departmental budget allocation — full guide (2026)

Most citizens ask only, “How much budget was given?” That is not enough. Real accountability comes from the full chain:

• Budget estimate (BE)
• Revised estimate (RE)
• Final grant/release
• Actual expenditure
• Savings/surrender
• Re-appropriation between heads

This one RTI can reveal whether a department actually used allocated funds, delayed spending, or shifted money away from critical services.

Use one financial year and one department per application for faster disposal.

1. Certified copy of head-wise and sub-head-wise BE, RE, and final sanctioned allocation for FY .
2. Certified copy of Demand for Grants extract relevant to Department for FY .

1. Date-wise statement of fund releases (sanction number, date, amount, head).
2. Head-wise expenditure incurred up to each quarter and year-end actual.
3. Copy of Utilisation Certificates (UCs) received/accepted for schemes under the same heads.

1. Head-wise statement of savings and surrender at FY close.
2. Certified copies of all re-appropriation orders (from head X to head Y) with file noting/approval.
3. Reasons recorded for major (>10%) variation between allocation and actual expenditure.

1. Copy of supplementary grant requests/approvals for FY .
2. Internal circulars/guidelines used for cash management and expenditure control for the same year.

1. Provide records in PDF + editable spreadsheet (XLS/CSV) where available under Section 2(j).

• RTI Act 2005 §2(f), §2(j), §6, §7 (right to information, form of access, timelines).
• RTI Act §4(1)(b) (proactive disclosure obligations for functioning and finances).
• Constitution Article 266 (public money in Consolidated Fund framework).
• General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017 (financial propriety, sanction, utilisation controls).
• Relevant State Financial Rules / Budget Manual for state departments.

If unsure, file to the line department PIO and ask transfer under §6(3) if needed.

• Union Ministry: Integrated Finance Division / Budget Division PIO
• State Department: Department Accounts/Budget/Finance Wing PIO
• District-level implementation: DDO/Accounts office records via department PIO

Tip: In subject line, mention exact entity + FY:

RTI under Section 6 — Departmental budget allocation and utilisation (Department ___, FY 2025-26)

To,
The Public Information Officer,
[Department Name], [Finance/Budget Wing], [Address]

Subject: Application under Section 6, RTI Act 2005 — Head-wise budget allocation, release and utilisation details for FY [____]

Sir/Madam,
Kindly provide the following information for Department [____] for FY [____]:

1) Head-wise/sub-head-wise Budget Estimate (BE), Revised Estimate (RE), and final sanctioned allocation.
2) Date-wise fund release statements (sanction no., date, amount, budget head).
3) Head-wise expenditure incurred (quarter-wise and year-end actuals).
4) Supplementary grants sought/approved, with copies of sanction orders.
5) Head-wise savings and surrender at FY close.
6) Copies of all re-appropriation orders (head-to-head transfers) with approval notes.
7) Reasons recorded for major variance (more than 10%) between allocation and utilisation.
8) Copies of Utilisation Certificates (UCs) received/accepted for schemes under these heads.
9) Provide records in PDF and machine-readable format (Excel/CSV), where available.

Application fee of Rs.10 is enclosed via [IPO/DD/online receipt no. ____].

If any part pertains to another public authority, please transfer under Section 6(3) and inform me.

Name:
Address:
Mobile/Email:
Date:
Signature:

• Normal RTI response deadline: 30 days.
• If transferred under §6(3), track transfer intimation and receiving PIO details.
• No response / incomplete reply: file First Appeal within limitation period.

To,
First Appellate Authority,
[Department]

Subject: First Appeal under Section 19(1), RTI Act — non-supply/incomplete supply in RTI dated [____]

Grounds:
1) Information sought at points [__] not supplied / denied without valid exemption.
2) Records requested are disclosable financial records held by public authority.

Relief sought:
- Direct PIO to provide complete point-wise information in certified copies and editable format.
- Provide speaking order for any denial with specific section invoked.

Appellant details:
[Name, address, contact]

• “Voluminous information” → Ask for inspection date first, then certified extracts.
• “Not maintained in this format” → Seek existing records/files/registers as held.
• Blanket exemption without section → Demand specific exemption clause + harm test.
• “Available on website” → Ask for exact URL + period + missing records not uploaded.

• Mention exact department + financial year.
• Ask head-wise, not only total budget.
• Include re-appropriation + surrender (critical transparency markers).
• Ask for sanction numbers and dates.
• Request editable data where available.

Q1. Should I file one RTI for multiple years? Prefer one year per RTI for faster, cleaner replies.

Q2. Can I ask for file notings on budget shifts? Yes, ask for note sheets/approvals related to re-appropriation and surrender decisions.

Q3. Is PFMS data enough without RTI? PFMS is useful but often incomplete for departmental reasoning and file-level approvals; RTI gets the underlying records.

Q4. What if department says records are with treasury/accountant general? Ask transfer under §6(3) and request intimation of transferred authority details.

• RTI for Utilisation Certificate (UC)
• RTI for CAG audit objection follow-up
• RTI in 12 simple steps

• RTI Act 2005
• Constitution of India (Article 266)
• General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017
• State budget manuals / financial rules (as applicable)

Last reviewed: 16 May 2026.