Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, June 1 : All the three important Central Government organisations under the aegis of Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), namely Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and Central Information Commission (CIC), have started functioning in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, after the extension of the Central Laws and provisions over there.
This was disclosed here today by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also In-Charge DoPT, when the newly appointed Vigilance Commissioner in Central Vigilance Commission, Suresh N Patel called on him after taking over the charge of office. Incidentally, the newly appointed Central Vigilance Commissioner, Sanjay Kothari has also joined the Commission recently, as a result of which, all the three members of Central Vigilance Commission are now in place.
Expressing happiness over the development, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the combination of CVC, CAT and CIC “trio” will help Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to usher in a new era of accountability, transparency and professional work culture. This will also enable the people of the two new Union Territories to receive the same benefits with justice and fair play, as are available to the people in the rest of the country, he said.
The State Vigilance Act of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir State stands repealed and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has become operational over there. Meanwhile, the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) of the Government of India has also become applicable in J&K replacing the Anti Corruption Law practiced by the erstwhile State.
As for the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), the Minister was briefed that 20 officials have been deputed to provide assistance to the newly established Bench of CAT in Jammu. The hearing of cases and service matters from Jammu & Kashmir has already started by the CAT using video conference, in the wake of lockdown.
Beginning from the 15th of May this year, the hearing of Right to Information (RTI) applications pertaining to Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh by the Central Information Commission (CIC) has also started by the CIC. The applications from J&K and Ladakh can now even file RTI on-line sitting at home and the hearing also on-line, said Dr Jitendra Singh, describing it as the beginning of a new culture of “justice from home”.
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