New Delhi, Nov. 3: The Bengal government is among the most reluctant in the country to disclose information under the Right to Information Act, the Central Information Commission has said.

The CIC has also questioned the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government’s seriousness about the act.

While states like Tamil Nadu — rated the best by the CIC — are doing “all they can” to change the opaque image administrations have traditionally been slapped with, Bengal doesn’t even feel the need to tell its citizens where the information commission is located.

The government website, www.wbgov.com, makes no mention of the state information commission (SIC) it had set up a year ago under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. “The information we have been provided by the Bengal government about the location of the SIC is incorrect,” a CIC official said.

The CIC website and other official websites on RTI have Writers’ Buildings listed as the address of the state commission, though it is actually Bhavani Bhavan.

Attempts to call the commission at the number given on official websites — 033-22215858 — are futile. “This telephone number does not exist,” informs the operator.

The SIC does not have a website, for which officials blame an “apathetic” government. “We have so many cases to deal with every day. The least the government can do is help us set up our website,” an official said.

The National Informatics Centre told The Telegraph that it is working on the site.

The Bengal chief information commissioner, Arun Bhattacharya, was supposed to have been joined by other commissioners. But he remains the only one on the panel struggling with a staff of six when he wanted 31.

The government is yet to ensure all ministries and departments have public information officers — the first person a citizen approaches for information. Neither is there an appellate authority, who the citizen goes to if denied information at the first stage.

Both were supposed to be appointed within 100 days of the information act coming into effect.

“The Calcutta Municipal Corporation has repeatedly refused to listen to the SIC. It still has not appointed an appellate authority, which is a major problem as most cases are to do with the CMC,” a state commission official said.

According to the CIC, it had to intervene several times after the state commission’s orders were violated.

“In one case, where an appellant had sought information about the sale of land at Singur, the CIC had to come into the picture after a district magistrate brazenly refused to comply with the SIC’s order,” a central commission official said.