Greater Kashmir; FAHEEM ASLAM; Srinagar, March 19, 2011;
Armed with the provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the first Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of Jammu and Kashmir, GR Sufi Saturday cautioned the state bureaucracy that they must get ready to implement the legislation in letter and spirit or face action. He asserted that the Act would be “compulsorily implemented” on ground.
“I will request my friends in the bureaucracy that for God’s sake, be aware, be sensitive, rise to the occasion, read the Act and help implement it, because the legislature’s intention is to implement the Act,” Sufi said, addressing his maiden press conference here, after taking over as the CIC on January 28. Director Information, Khawaja Farooq Renzushah was also present on the occasion.
The Act, Sufi said, was not a decorative or a reference book which is to be kept in a museum. “It is an open book and has to be implemented,” he said.
Sufi said there was no alternative for the officers but to deal with the Act. “I am telling you that stream of people have been visiting me even though I joined a few days back. Now there is no alternative for the officers but to deal with the Act because people have become aware that there is some Act called the RTI Act. They might not know the procedure but they know that somebody has been appointed as Chief Information Commissioner and that some more people are to be appointed,” Sufi said, underscoring that the RTI Act is “power in the hands of people.”
Sufi warned that the bureaucrats will have to face the onslaught of fresh RTI applications. “There would be lot of fresh cases. And then bureaucrats will have to be called, will have to be quizzed and will have to face the people,” he cautioned.
“To avoid that situation I would request them that from today itself they will take stock of their record and see how many RTI applications are pending with them. They are requested to reply these forthwith even if they have delayed,” he said, adding, “Now there will be no excuse, we will implement the Act ruthlessly.”
Sufi said if there was delay in replying to an application, the law of the land would take its own course.
“But the intentions of the bureaucrats will be seen if they implement or reply, because what the legislature wants to see is not just technical compliance but the compliance in letter and spirit,” he said.
He said if the officers fail to comply, the State Information Commission would impose penalties on them. “There are disciplinary proceedings to be processed against them. There are provisions of compensation to be paid for those people who have not been provided with the information,” he said.
But, he added, ‘if they will start giving replies, they have some good defence. Penalty is not just for the sake of imposing penalty because legally, for penalties, we have to establish if there were reasonable causes for not responding to the Act.”
‘FOLLOW PROCEDURE’
Sufi said most of the people were not aware about the procedure and provisions of the RTI Act. He said the applicants must file the application before the Public Information Officer (PIO), who is legally bound to furnish the desired information. “If he/she denies it, then the applicant can file an application before the first appellate authority. If the official denies it or the applicant is not satisfied with the response, then the commission can be approached,” he said.
‘APPOINT PIOs’Sufi advised different departments to appoint the PIOs as no authority can afford to not have the official in place. “The heads of departments who have not designated the PIOs so far will have to face action if they don’t do so forthwith,” he said.
He said his office was collecting the figures as to how many departments are without PIOs.
Saying he would “go slow” vis-à-vis RTI Act for the time being, as it is at infancy stage in the state, Sufi said once the infancy period is over, the office would come down heavily on the erring officials, who deny information under the RTI or don’t appoint the PIOs.
He asked the PIOs and appellate authorities to at least have the “working knowledge” about the RTI provisions.
ON PRO-ACTIVE DISCLOSURE
Sufi specifically referred to section 4 of the RTI Act 2009, which makes it mandatory for a public authority to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitate the right to information under this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated.
“Most of the departments have complied with this provision, but some are yet to. They must do it fast. No excuse shall work,” he said.
ON ATTACKS ON RTI ACTIVISTS
In response to a question on reported attacks on RTI activists in the Valley, Sufi said he would act as per the law “if a written complaint is made before his office.”
“I am well aware about such in places like Haryana, Baroda. We want this Act to flourish and therefore take such attacks or incidents of manhandling very seriously,” he said.
ON HR, AFSPA
In response to a question on whether he would furnish information on human rights violations in the state and bring in the AFSPA under the ambit of RTI Act, Sufi said: “Whatever requires to be done would be done. Whatever is available under this Act, we will do it.
AWARENESS MUST
"We are getting complaints like denial of jobs, promotions and benefits by the government which are not within our ambit. So, there is a need to create an awareness about the operation of RTI Act," G R Sufi said.
Sufi admitted that there are some areas in the RTI Act which need to be looked into afresh.
"Give me some time, we will have to look at the fee structure for RTI applications in the state," he said.
The state government charges a fee of Rs 50 per application and Rs 10 for every page of information furnished against Rs 10 and Rs two charged by the Central government for these services
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