Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
Recently people across the world commemorated the International day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). Debates , webinars , seminars and other activities related to Access to Information were held across the world. We also commemorated this day but our celebration was unique. We held a silent protest in the Srinagar center as we have nothing to celebrate. From last 1 year our State Information Commission (SIC) is non-operational as J&K RTI Act 2009 was repealed and Central RTI Act 2005 was applied to Jammu & Kashmir. After extending RTI Act 2005 to J&K, we got deprived of the State Information Commission (SIC) like many other commissions as Union Territories (UT’s) are not entitled to have an independent Information Commission. That is understandable for the UT’s with a small population like Pondecherry , Anadaman and Nicobar Island, Daman Diu or Lakshdweep , but for a place like Jammu & Kashmir which has a huge population of 1.30 crore , there has to be at least a separate bench of Central Information Commission (CIC) on the pattern of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) bench that was approved for J&K some months back. The 2nd appeals under RTI Act 2005 are now filed before the Central Information Commission (CIC) New Delhi where the workload is already huge. Aggrieved appellants will not get justice from CIC within months and finally justice will be delayed , which is like denial of justice. Making a person wait for a year or more to get information about MG-NREGA works under RTI is ridiculous and this is actually happening on the ground as there is no local RTI appellate mechanism available in J&K.
SIC cases transferred to CIC
All the pending appeals in the then J&K State Information Commission (JKSIC) have been transferred to CIC New Delhi. During the last 1 year very few people from J&K have got justice from CIC as their cases are hardly listed. RTI applicants from far off villages have stopped using RTI, as they believe it is wastage of time as PIOs hardly respond to information seekers and they make delays intentionally believing that they would no-more be taken to task by State Information Commission (SIC) which is shut and by the time case would be listed in Central Information Commission (CIC) New Delhi , the officer would have been transferred. Many information seekers and appellants who contacted me hardly know how to file an appeal before CIC New Delhi ? Aggrieved would get justice from J&K State Information Commission (JKSIC) within a few months only as the State Commission was supposed to dispose of RTI appeals within 60 to 120 days only. There was a separate provision in JK RTI Act 2009 for the same. Under RTI Act 2005 there is no such legal provision and thus it takes minimum 9 months to 18 months to get justice from the Central and State Information Commissions across India.
Legal notice to Maharashtra SIC
The RTI activists under the banner of RTI Katta in Maharashtra a few months back served a legal notice to the Maharashtra State Information Commission (SIC) asking it to lay out a roadmap to ensure timely disposal of appeals. More than 58000 RTI appeals are pending before Maharashtra SIC . This was not the case with J&K in the recent past ? The time bound disposal of RTI appeals made erstwhile J&K RTI Act 2009 more progressive than RTI Act 2005. In-fact such a provision is not seen in most of the RTI laws in Asian countries. For the last almost 1 year RTI Act 2005 (central law) is applicable in J&K, but as a longtime RTI campaigner, I get regular calls and messages from aggrieved information seekers who complain that Govt departments are reluctant in providing information under RTI . Ironically not even a single awareness programme has been held during the last 1 year by the Government for the designated officers after they were asked & tasked to implement the new RTI law. Training could have been given through virtual mode also , but nobody has even thought about it. Under RTI Act 2005 Govt has to create awareness for the citizens, disadvantaged communities as well as mandated under section 26 of RTI Act 2005.
RTI’s section 26 reads :
“The appropriate Government may, to the extent of availability of financial and other resources develop and organize educational programmes to advance the understanding of the public, in particular of disadvantaged communities as to how to exercise the rights contemplated under this Act. Encourage public authorities to participate in the development and organization of programmes referred to in clause (a) and to undertake such programmes themselves. Promote timely and effective dissemination of accurate information by public authorities about their activities and train Central Public Information Officers or State Public Information Officers, as the case may be of public authorities and produce relevant training materials for use by the public authorities themselves. The appropriate Government shall, within eighteen months from the commencement of this Act, compile in its official language a guide containing such information, in an easily comprehensible form and manner, as may reasonably be required by a person who wishes to exercise any right specified in this Act ”
Digital India
PM Modi in 2015 launched Digital India campaign with an aim to ensure the Government’s services are made available to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure and by increasing internet connectivity or making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology. During the last 6 months people have less access to Govt offices in view of COVID 19 pandemic. This was the best time to receive RTI applications through electronic mode and provide reply through email, but the Jammu and Kashmir Government has miserably failed to create an effective digital interface vis a vis Right to Information Act (RTI). Ironically 4G internet service has also not been restored for more than a year. If the whole of India is enjoying 4G internet on mobile phones , why deny this right to us ? Govt claimed article 370 was an impediment in giving us similar entitlements which were being enjoyed by people in India, why then deny high speed internet service to us ? The Government seems to be not interested in extending the digital India campaign to Jammu & Kashmir.
Lack of Training
The designated officers under RTI Act 2005 have not been trained by Govt till date. Not even a single workshop has been conducted for First Appellate Authorities (FAA’s) or Public Information Officers (PIOs) across J&K since the central RTI act was extended to J&K. Recently the Assistant Director Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS & CA) Shopian which is a designated-PIO while responding to an RTI applicant namely Gazi Muzamil provided him information under J&K RTI Act 2009 which has been repealed a year back. Similarly the Executive Engineer PMGSY Budgam asked an unmarried information seeker Syed Farhat to provide his own BPL Ration card as his father’s ration card was not accepted in lieu of application fees. How can an unmarried person have a separate ration card ? Govt has failed to publish a user guide on RTI Act 2005 for citizens during the last 1 year.
Conclusion
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared September 28th as International day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) during its 74th session last year. This year’s theme is “access to information in times of crisis”. Whole of the world is under crisis and access to information should be a top priority of the Govt. Unfortunately J&K Govt even failed to commemorate this International day? Not even a single function was held. Even an official statement was not issued by the Information Department which clearly indicates that authorities at helm are non- serious about ensuring access to information to people. This will continue to happen unless we don’t have a dedicated institution of RTI. It is thus urged upon the Government of India particularly Dr Jitender Singh who is the Minister in PMO to make-sure J&K and Ladakh have a dedicated CIC bench which should hear RTI appeals at Srinagar , Jammu and Ladakh on rotation basis.
(The author is Founder & Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir RTI Movement)
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