Sunday, May 22, 2016

RTI will die its own death? CM must constitute SIC, and that too very soon. : Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat

Greater Kashmir: Srinagar: Sunday, May 22, 2016.
After enactment of a progressive Right to Information (RTI) legislation people have for the first time been given a right to make Government officials and other public authorities accountable. Now ordinary citizens are demanding information about the functioning of the Government and this information has to be provided in writing which was not possible before enactment of RTI legislation. We see a big shift within democracy because the traditional electoral democracy is getting transformed into participatory democracy. From last several months the State Information Commission (SIC) is almost defunct as two out of three commissioners have completed their term in the commission. Pertinent to mention that Jammu & Kashmir State Information Commission (SIC) which has been constituted under the provisions of J&K RTI Act 2009, is responsible for implementation of RTI Act in our state. It is because of intervention of this commission that Government officials started providing information under state RTI Act to people and thus became a source of hope for the aggrieved citizens especially those who belong to disadvantaged communities.
As State Information Commission (SIC) continues to function with a single  Information Commissioner, RTI campaigners, journalists and civil society groups  across the state have been urging upon Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to appoint new State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and one Information Commissioner (IC) so that Right to Information (RTI) is protected from any serious causality. The J&K State Information Commission (SIC) as on date is without a  State Chief Information Commission (CIC) and Information Commissioner (IC) as the posts fell vacant in February 2016 and October 2015 respectively. Mr G R Sufi former Indian Revenue Service Officer (IRS) who retired as State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) in February this year, earlier said that RTI will die its own death if State Information Commission (SIC) is not constituted as soon as possible. Sufi while speaking at a seminar organised by J&K RTI Movement at Central University of Kashmir in March this year said that constitution of SIC was very essential for ensuring good governance and to protect State’s RTI Act.
CM  must constitute SIC:  
Former CIC Mr G R Sufi had earlier revealed that he spoke to Government several times to appoint a new  Information Commissioner after Dr S K Sharma retired from the post of  Information Commission last year in October. Now Mr G R Sufi has also retired from the post of State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) which has turned State Information Commission (SIC) has almost a defunct institution. Under the provisions of J&K RTI Act 2009 the Information Commissioners and Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) can only be appointed by the Governor when the selection committee consisting of CM, Leader of Opposition, and one cabinet Minister nominated by CM recommends the suitable candidate. It was not possible few months back when state was under Governor’s rule, but now we have an elected Government in J&K and CM  Mehbooba Mufti must take steps to fully constitute the State Information Commission (SIC). It is a matter on concern that the elected Government could not shortlist the names of probable Information Commissioners after Dr S K Sharma retired in October 2015. They had almost 3 months until the death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syed to appoint new Information Commissioner.
Conclusion :
I remind Chief Minister Mehbooba ji of her promises vis a vis ensuring good and transparent governance. She has always been a supporter of good governance and during her recent meetings with bureaucrats she stressed on strengthening of J&K Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) which was enacted during the tenure of Omar Abdullah in 2011. This clearly indicates that pro-people legislations enacted during National Conference  lead coalition Government are not of least importance for the Chief Minister. Former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syed was also great admirer of RTI Act. His Government passed J&K RTI Act 2004 when no such law existed at national level. After the enactment of present version of RTI law (J&K RTI Act  2009), Mufti sahib personally told me to conduct RTI training for his MLAs and on September 9th 2009 , I along with my fellow activists conducted RTI training for 19 MLAs of PDP along with other senior leaders of the party most of whom are cabinet Ministers in present Government. I hope Chief Minister will fulfill her promises with respect to good governance and answerable Government and that cannot be achieved unless we have a strong institution of Right to Information (RTI) in place.