Daily Excelsior: Jammu: Monday,
April 17, 2017.
Shocking it
may sound but it is a fact that around 70 Government Departments and Public
Authorities including State Accountability Commission (SAC) and State Human
Rights Commission (SHRC) have been violating provisions of Jammu and Kashmir
Right to Information Act, 2009 relating to suo-moto disclosure of information
pertaining to them. Moreover, several departments have yet not come up with
their official websites despite the fact that the same are imperative for
uploading information.
Section 4 of the J&K Right to Information
Act, 2009 lays down various obligations of the Public Authority for suo-moto
disclosure of information pertaining to it particularly the functions and
duties, the powers and duties of its officers, the procedure followed in the
decision making process including channels of supervision and accountability,
the norms set-forth by it for discharge of functions, rules/regulations,
instructions and manuals being followed by it for discharging its functions
etc.
“However, there is no strict compliance to
Section 4 of the Act by all the Public Authorities and Government Departments
despite the fact that ever since the constitution of State Information
Commission directions were issued from time to time for suo-moto disclosure of
information”, official sources said, adding even the new Chief Information
Commissioner Khurshid Ahmed Ganai last month made recommendation to all Public
Authorities in the State to take necessary steps so as to conform to all the
provisions of Section 4.
According to the sources, a large number of
Public Authorities have not made suo-moto disclosure of information and have
also not taken required steps for the same purpose. Although the State
Information Commission has given time-frame till June 30, 2017 for compliance
to Section 4 of the Act, majority of the defaulting departments and Public
Authorities have yet not come forward to voluntary disclose information, which
otherwise should have received prompt attention for the sake of transparency.
As per the official information, around 70
Government Departments and Public Authorities have not shown compliance to
Section 4 of the RTI Act till date. Astonishingly, State Accountability
Commis-sion is also defaulting while as State High Court has posted incomplete
information on its website. What to talk of making suo-moto disclosure of
information the State Human Rights Commission doesn’t have its own website.
What to talk of other departments, even the
offices of Divisional Commissioners and that of several Deputy Commissioners
have not strictly adhered to Section 4 of the Act and their websites are lacking requisite details.
Even the websites of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and Legislative
Council are deficient in information.
The Government Medical Colleges and Drug and
Flood Control Organization are also among 70 Public Authorities and Government
Departments, which have failed to ensure compliance to Section 4 of the Act
despite the fact that hoisting all the information by them would be of immense
help for the general public.
There are large number of departments whose
websites are lacking full information as well as icon for Section 4 of J&K
Right to Information Act, sources said, adding “several public dealing
departments are even lacking their websites what to speak of making suo-moto
disclosure of information pertaining to them”.
“The status of non-compliance is
notwithstanding the fact that even General Administ-ration Department has
issued numerous circulars about compliance to Section 4 of RTI Act a number of
times”, sources said, adding “every time the State Information Commission
expresses concern over non-compliance to Section 4 by the Government
Departments and Public Authorities the GAD simply issues circular instead of
passing strict directions to the Administrative Secretaries for pulling up
their subordinate officers for adopting non-serious attitude”.
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