How to File RTI at Gram Panchayat: PIO, Fee, Appeals

Address your RTI application to the Gram Panchayat's Public Information Officer, who is usually the Panchayat Secretary or Gram Sevak, and pay the small state fee (often Rs 10, and nil in some states). The reply is due in 30 days under Section 7(1). If your Panchayat has no notified PIO, send the application to the Block Development Officer, who must route it correctly.

Short on time? Jump to the sample application below, copy it, and post it to your Panchayat Secretary today.

Most village-level questions have a paper trail: a muster roll, a measurement book, a fund-utilisation statement, a gram-sabha resolution. The problem is rarely that records do not exist. It is that no one will show them across the counter.

The RTI Act, 2005 changes that. Section 6(1) lets any citizen demand these records in writing. The Panchayat cannot ask why you want them. It must reply in 30 days or face a first appeal, and the officer can be penalised up to ₹25,000 under Section 20 for unjustified delay.

Take a real pattern. Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak's family land in their village showed a community toilet “built” in the MGNREGA records, with wages paid, but no toilet on the ground. One RTI for the muster roll and the measurement book exposed the gap. The fix was not a protest. It was a Rs 10 application.

Every public authority must designate a Public Information Officer (PIO) under Section 5(1). For a Gram Panchayat, this is usually the Panchayat Secretary, also called the Gram Sevak, Village Development Officer, or Panchayat Development Officer, depending on your state.

The exact post varies by state, so do not assume. Ask at the Panchayat office, or check your State Panchayati Raj Department website for the notified PIO list.

If the Panchayat has not notified any PIO, you are not stuck. Address the application to the Block Development Officer (BDO) of your block, who oversees the Panchayats and will treat the BDO office as the public authority or transfer your request.

Some records you want, like aggregated MGNREGA data or scheme-fund releases, sit at the Block or District level, not in the village.

You do not need to guess perfectly. Under Section 6(3), if you file with the wrong office, that office must transfer your application to the correct public authority within 5 days and inform you of the transfer. You do not refile and you do not pay again.

So if you are unsure, file with the Panchayat Secretary anyway. A returned or rejected application is itself illegal under the Act; the only lawful options are to answer or to transfer.

The standard RTI application fee is Rs 10. You can pay it as cash against a receipt, by Indian Postal Order (IPO), demand draft, or banker's cheque made out to the Accounts Officer of the public authority. Some states also let you affix a court-fee stamp on the application as the fee, so check your State rules for the accepted mode.

State rules differ, and this matters most at the village level. In Andhra Pradesh there is no fee for an RTI to a village-level (gram panchayat) authority, and only ₹5 at the mandal level. Always confirm the current fee and payment mode on your State RTI portal or the State Gazette before you file.

If you hold a Below Poverty Line (BPL) card, you pay no fee at all. Attach a copy of the BPL certificate or ration card as proof.

Note: Panchayati Raj is a State subject. The central portal at rtionline.gov.in does not cover Gram Panchayats. File on your State RTI portal if your state has one, or by post / in person to the Panchayat Secretary or BDO.

Be specific. Name the work, the financial year, and the document. Strong village-level requests include:

1. MGNREGA muster rolls for a named work and period, with attendance and wages paid.
2. Measurement books and works files for any road, drain, toilet, or building.
3. Fund-utilisation statements showing money received and spent under each scheme.
4. Beneficiary lists for pension, housing (PMAY-G), ration, or scholarship schemes.
5. Gram-sabha meeting minutes and resolutions, with the attendance register.
6. Certified copies of bills, vouchers, and contractor payments for a named project.

For wage and job-card detail, pair this with the sample RTI for MGNREGA wages and muster rolls.

If you get no reply within 30 days, or an evasive or partial one, file a first appeal under Section 19(1) within 30 days of that deadline.

The First Appellate Authority for a Gram Panchayat is usually the Block Development Officer or the Chief Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti (in some states the District Panchayat Officer). No fee is charged for a first appeal in most states.

The appellate authority must decide within 30 days, extendable to a maximum of 45 days with reasons recorded in writing. The order can direct the PIO to release the records.

Still no records? File a second appeal under Section 19(3) to your State Information Commission (SIC) within 90 days of the first-appellate order, or of the date it should have come.

The SIC can order disclosure, impose a Section 20 penalty of up to ₹25,000 on the PIO, and recommend disciplinary action. For the online filing route, see the Maharashtra SIC second-appeal online guide. If the Commission still fails you, the last resort is a writ petition in the High Court under Article 226.

Fees and the named appellate post genuinely vary by state. Two confirmed examples show how different the village picture can be:

Other states set their own fee and payment mode, so confirm the current figure in your State RTI rules or on your State portal before filing. The 30-day reply clock, the Section 6(3) transfer rule, and the appeal timelines are the same across India because they come from the central RTI Act. Only the fee amount, the payment mode, and the exact officer titles change by state.

Kashvi Pathak wanted to know why the approach road to her village was half-finished though records said it was complete.

1. Day 0. She posted a Rs 10 RTI to the Panchayat Secretary asking for the measurement book, the muster roll, and the contractor's bill for that road, financial year 2025-26.
2. Day 30. No reply. Deemed refusal under Section 7(2).
3. Day 31. She filed a first appeal to the BDO under Section 19(1). No fee.
4. Day 48. The BDO directed the PIO to hand over certified copies. The measurement book showed work billed but not done. She forwarded it to the District Programme Coordinator.

Total spent: Rs 10 plus postage. The lever was the law, not influence.

To,
The Public Information Officer (Panchayat Secretary / Gram Sevak),
Gram Panchayat ______________,
Block ____________, District ____________, State ____________

Subject: Request for information under the Right to Information Act, 2005

Sir/Madam,
Under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, please provide me the following information for Gram Panchayat ____________:

1. Certified copy of the MGNREGA muster roll for the work "____________"
   for the financial year 2025-26, showing attendance and wages paid.
2. Certified copy of the measurement book and works file for the same work.
3. Fund-utilisation statement of the Panchayat for the financial year 2025-26.
4. Certified copies of the gram-sabha resolutions passed during 2025-26.

I am attaching the application fee of Rs 10 by ____________ (cash receipt /
IPO / DD / court-fee stamp). [If BPL: I hold a BPL card, copy attached, and
claim fee exemption under the RTI fee rules.]

If any part of this information is held by another public authority, kindly
transfer it under Section 6(3) within 5 days and inform me.

Name: ____________   Address: ____________   Mobile: ____________
Date: ____________   Signature: ____________

Need help drafting? Use the copy-paste RTI application format.

Silence past 30 days is a “deemed refusal” under Section 7(2). You do not wait longer. File a first appeal to the BDO under Section 19(1) within 30 days of the deadline. State in the appeal that no reply was received and ask for the records plus action against the PIO under Section 20.

A bare “not available” is not a lawful answer. The PIO must either give the record or state, in writing and with reasons, why it does not exist or is exempt under Section 8. If the records should exist by law, like an MGNREGA muster roll, escalate. Carry the “not available” reply into your first appeal as evidence and ask the appellate authority to verify whether the record truly does not exist.

The first Rs 10 covers your application, not the copies. For copies you pay roughly ₹2 per A4 page in most states. The PIO must send you a costing letter; you pay it, then receive the copies. BPL applicants get copies free. If the PIO blew the 30-day deadline, the information must be given free of any further fee under Section 7(6).

Three clocks. The PIO has 30 days to reply (48 hours if life or liberty is at stake). You have 30 days to file the first appeal after that. You have 90 days to file the second appeal to the SIC after the first-appeal order. Miss your own deadlines and you may lose the appeal, so diarise each date.

No. Under Section 3, any citizen of India can file an RTI to any public authority, including a Gram Panchayat in a village where you do not live. There is no residency or land-ownership condition. You also do not have to say why you want the information. Under Section 6(2) the PIO cannot ask for your reasons, except for contact details needed to reach you.

No. The Panchayat cannot reject your application based on your caste, party, or village. It can withhold information only on a specific exemption under Section 8 or 9, stated in writing with reasons. A vague or personal refusal is not lawful. Carry it into your first appeal to the BDO and ask for a Section 20 penalty against the PIO.

1. Find your Panchayat Secretary's name and the office address.
2. Copy the sample application above and fill in the work name and financial year.
3. Arrange the Rs 10 fee (cash receipt, IPO, or court-fee stamp), or your BPL proof.
4. Post it by registered post or hand it in and get a dated receipt. Save that receipt; it starts your 30-day clock.

1. RTI Act, 2005 - Sections 5, 6, 7, 19, 20 (full text, rti.gov.in).
2. Fee required under the RTI Act - Department of Legal Affairs, Government of India.
3. Second appeal procedure - Central Information Commission.
4. Andhra Pradesh Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005 (village-level fee).

1. Sample RTI for MGNREGA wages and muster rolls
2. How to file a second appeal before the Information Commission
3. Maharashtra SIC second-appeal online guide
4. RTI writ petition in the High Court after a CIC or SIC order
5. Copy-paste RTI application format
6. The RTI Playbook