The Right to Information Act will come into effect from midnight tonight (February 3).

The RTI Act was one of the key election promises of President Maithripala Sirisena in 2015.

The RTI Bill was unanimously passed in Parliament on June 24, 2016.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya signed the Act on August 4, 2016 and a period of six months was allowed to prepare for the process.

The RTI Act recognises the rights of citizens as shareholders in a democracy, to government information. Under the RTI Information Officers will be attached to ministries and public institutions vested with the authority of issuing information to the public, on request.

Currently, about 1,500 Information Officers have been appointed to the various ministries and institutions and are being trained.

Mass Media and Parliamentary Reforms Minster Gayantha Karunathilake said Information Officers would also be appointed to school and Police stations in the future.

Information can be obtained from the Information Officers by way of a letter, an email or orally.

The information will be issued at a cost: The first four A4 size pages of information will be issued free of charge, while the balance will be charged Rs. 2 each, the Information Department said.

The Act also included 21 instances where information cannot be revealed.

It also allows information seekers to appeal to an Independent RTI Commission, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court if there is any discrepancies found in the information issued or in the process of issuance.