*SIC for DDCs to monitor RTI Act in distts
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 10: Stating that desired results as conceived in the preamble of the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act cannot be achieved until there is prompt, quick and proper administrative action, the State Information Commission has recommended slew of new measures to the Government in order to ensure transparency and accountability in the governance.
With the introduction of the Right to Information Act in Jammu and Kashmir, hopes were generated to the effect that its implementation will usher in a dawn of transparency and accountability in the governance, the Commission said in its latest report. Though several steps were taken to ensure implementation of the Act, lot more needs to be done in order to realize the objectives enshrined in the legislation.
The Commission has regretted that most of the First Appellate Authorities (FAAs) are yet not sensitive towards discharging the statutory duties cast upon them to adjudicate first appeals. “This is notwithstanding the fact that First Appellate Authority is an important link in the appellate mechanism set out in the Act”, the report said.
In order to ensure that every public authority designates FAA under Section 16(1) of the Act, the Commission aggressively focused the issue and after great deal of persuasion, the public authorities designated FAAs. “However, FAAs are not performing their quasi-judicial duties cast upon them giving rise to increased number of complaints and second appeals before the Commission”, report said.
The non-seriousness on the part of FAAs is mainly because of legal lacunas in the J&K Right to Information Act, whose major provisions were changed in 2012 despite outcry. In the original Act, there was a provision whereby Chief Information Commission had the powers to write to the Government or the Minister concerned for action against First Appellate Authority for not discharging statutory duties.
But in the present Act and Rules, there is no such provision. However, if the Government wants to ensure strict implementation of transparency law, it can take administrative action against delinquent FAAs on its own as after all First Appellate Authorities are appointed by the senior officers of the concerned departments.
“The FAAs being important component of the appellate mechanism provided in the Act must rise to the occasion and adjudicate the first appeals filed before them by the RTI applicants”, the Commission has stressed in the report.
It has recommended that State Government may take appropriate practicable measures to accelerate the process of computerized management information systems by all public authorities in the State in keeping with the mandate of Section 4 of the Act.
“Every Administrative Department shall collect at its own level quarterly/annual return under Section 22 as per the devised format in relation to the public authorities within their jurisdiction and furnish the same in a consolidated form to the J&K State Information Commission at the end of each quarter and annual return at the end of financial year”, the Commission said.
Pointing towards Circular No.25-GAD of 2009 whereby supervision of implementation of the RTI Act has been entrusted to Administrative Secretaries, the Commission has recommended that similar instructions be passed on to all District Development Commissioners to supervise/ monitor the implementation of the RTI Act within their respective districts.
All public authorities in the State must strictly fulfill their obligations under Section 4 of the Act and in compliance of this section, every Administrative Secretary should be made responsible for assuring pro-active disclosure by a public authority within their purview, the Commission headed by Chief Information Commissioner, G R Sufi said.
“The aim of ensuring transparency and accountability would fructify unless there is a prompt, quick and proper administrative action resulting in measures as per service rules against the defaulting public authorities, whose such actions have come to light because of disclosures due to RTI replies”, the report said, adding “this prompt and quick administrative action will help in improving the working of public authorities and achieving desired results as conceived in the preamble of the Act”.
It is pertinent to mention here that RTI Act has led to many vital disclosures, which even formed basis for landmark judgments by the State High Court like the recent one in illegal appointments case.
A village got 4000 feet water pipe as a result of filing of an RTI request with PHE Department. Similarly, 156 families of a village have been benefitted after a disclosure of information about the live stock schemes for rural poor. Moreover, undistributed/ withheld NREGA cards find way to the beneficiaries only after an RTI was filed in the office of a BDO. Above all, State Vigilance Commission has registered 31 complaint cases based on the information obtained by the complaints under RTI Act and defunct CCTVs, metal detectors and jammers in highly sensitive jail areas of Jammu got revealed by way of RTI application.
These instances clearly indicate that if the Government acts on the recommendations of the State Information Commission transparency and accountability would become a reality in every public authority.
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