West Bengal RTI rules - 2026 citizen guide

West Bengal applies the West Bengal Right to Information Rules, 2006 (made under §27 of the RTI Act, 2005) for all state public authorities. The fee is ₹10 per application (BPL: zero). Reply deadline: 30 days under §7(1) of the central RTI Act. Online filing is via the wbric.gov.in portal (limited departments); Speed Post (AD) is the universal fallback.

Quick fee schedule

Stage Fee Mode
Application (§6) ₹10 IPO / court-fee / DD / online
Per A4 photocopy ₹2 paid on collection
Larger size copy actual cost paid on collection
CD (electronic record) ₹50 per CD paid on collection
Inspection of records free for first hour, ₹5 per 15 min after pay at office
BPL applicant Zero attach BPL certificate
First Appeal Zero -
Second Appeal to WB SIC Zero -

Statutory framework

Where to file

  • District-level: PIO at the Office of the District Magistrate / Sub-Divisional Officer.
  • State-level: PIO at the department secretariat, Nabanna, Howrah (state secretariat since 2013) or specific Bhavans in Kolkata.
  • First Appeal: Appellate Authority at the same office (one rung above PIO).
  • Second Appeal: West Bengal Information Commission, Bhabani Bhavan, 31, Belvedere Road, Alipore, Kolkata 700027. wbric.gov.in.

Sample RTI letter for WB

Use our AI RTI Drafter - auto-fills WB-specific fee paragraph + Bengali/English bilingual support.

Common mistakes filing in WB

  • Bengali-only application - while Bengali is accepted, slower processing. Bilingual (Bengali + English) is fastest.
  • Wrong office for Nabanna-based departments - the entire state secretariat moved from Writers' Building to Nabanna in October 2013. Old addresses bounce back.
  • Court-fee stamp variant confusion - use the West Bengal Court Fees Act 1922 stamp, not the central one.
  • Sending to Kolkata Police HQ for FIR - that's a separate authority. See sample RTI for FIR.

WB SIC - state of pendency

As per Anjali Bhardwaj v. UoI (2019) monitoring, the WB Information Commission has had a backlog of 15,000+ second appeals as of mid-2024 with a vacancy rate of 3 of 10 IC seats. Appointments restored in March 2025. Average second-appeal disposal time: 12-18 months. If your second appeal has been pending 18+ months, you can approach the Calcutta High Court under Article 226.

Citations and sources

Last reviewed: 4 May 2026.

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