India Today: Chandigarh: Thursday, June 29, 2017.
A turf tussle
has broken out in Haryana with the state waqf board, which is sitting on
massive landholdings and facing accusations of mismanagement, refusing to cede
ground even in RTI queries by denying information.
The Haryana
information commission has found the first appellate authority of the board
guilty of stonewalling facts from the public regarding waqf properties and
associated details of their current state of existence. More than that, the
authority observed in its order dated June 20 that the waqf official instructed
his junior public information officers to deliberately delay the furnishing of
information to Gurugram-based activist Harinder Dhingra under "ulterior motives".
Waqf is an
endowment, typically devoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious,
educational or charitable purposes. Under Indian law, it cannot be transferred
or sold, and must be used for the community's welfare.
SUSPICIONS
In yet another
surprising facet of what the Haryana information commission thinks might be
going on in the dealings of the state waqf board is a directive to a state
public information officer (SPIO) related to the case.
It says to
the officer to "keep entire record pertaining to this RTI applications and
show cause notice till date, in his personal custody and shall not hand over to
any of the authority except Shri Ram Niwas, additional chief secretary who is
looking after the affairs of the Haryana Waqf Board."
A clutch of
state waqf boards have been accused of selling land to builders and private
buyers for low rates in return for kickbacks.
"My
claim is that the waqf properties in the state have long been mismanaged and an
inquiry into the matter was pertinent," Dhingra told Mail Today.
"I
wanted to get information regarding who these properties have been leased to
and under what conditions to expose the reality. I was denied the information.
But, ironically, the very act of denial has now become the reason for an inquiry
in the matter by the additional chief secretary."
Due to
Dhingra's efforts, the state waqf Board came under the purview of the RTI Act
in 2012.
While the
board moved the high court against this, but lost in 2013.
When board
CEO Hanif Quereshi was asked about the matter, he denied having any knowledge
of the order. "I have not seen the order so I can't comment on it. But, we
do publish the details of the board's properties in our annual reports,"
he said.
The commission
has also directed Niwas to "take appropriate action against Shri Imtiyaz
Khizar, First Appellate Authority-cum-ADMO O/o Haryan Waqf Board, Ambala, who
had shown total disregard and apathy to the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005, at his
end".
The current
SPIO of the board and well as another retired ASPIO gave ample testimony, as
the records of the verdict of the commission bear, against Khizar and told the
commission how he stonewalled the information sought by Dhingra.
The
commission also noted that the SPIO was not to blame for denying information
and delaying it, and the blame rested with the first appellate authority".
The
information panel also said tellingly: "The commission is further aware of
the constraints and limitation of junior officers, when their seniors interfere
with their working with "ulterior motive" with a view to defeat the
very purpose of transparency which is cardinal to the RTI Act 2005."
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