Greater Kashmir: Srinagar: Monday, April 30, 2018.
Since last
many years of RTI Activism I have had a lot of experiences while dealing with
RTI Application Filing Process, RTI Awareness, Campaigning, and Research
related to RTI and so on. Since March 20th 2009, when the J&K RTI Act 2009
was enforced on papers in Jammu and Kashmir, RTI Activists have been demanding
for the real implementation of RTI Law in the state. We have always been
focusing on Section 4 and Section 23 which we feel are the most important
provisions of RTI law that could bring a drastic change in public policy and
governance related matters. Since the government seems to be very reluctant in
doing awareness of RTI as mandatory under Section 23 of the J&K RTI Act
2009, so we at J&K RTI Foundation filed an RTI Application in General
Administration Department seeking some important information related to Section
23.
RTI
Application seeking information on Section 23:
With
reference to the section 23 of J&K RTI Act 2009, we sent an RTI Application
to the Public Information Officer GAD Srinagar/Jammu, and asked for providing
following information:
- Section 23 (1) (a) says the government may develop and organize educational programs to advance the understanding of the public, in particular of disadvantaged communities as to how to exercise the rights contemplated under the Act. Kindly provide the details of such educational programs organized from 2009 till date including venue of program, date when organized, expenditures involved, target beneficiaries etc.
- As per Section 23 (1) (b), the government may encourage public authorities to participate in the development and organization of programs referred to in clause (a) and to undertake such programs themselves. In what way the government has been encouraging public authorities and how many programs have been organized since 2009 till date.
- Section 23 (1) (c) says that the government may provide timely and effective dissemination of accurate information by public authorities about their activities. Kindly let us know if the public authorities are disseminating accurate information about their activities or not. If yes, in what sense the information is being disseminated and how the government has been promoting such activities. If not, reasons may be provided.
- According to Section 23 (1) (d), the government may train public information officers of public authorities and produce relevant training materials for use by the public authorities themselves. Many PIO’s have complained that they have not received any kind of training material? Kindly provide number of training programs, date and venue of program and expenditures involved on training programs and training material since 2009 till date.
- Has the government compiled any guide in the interest of persons who wish to exercise RTI ACT till date? A copy of the compilation may please be provided. If not, the reasons to be provided.
- Has the government published any guidelines under section 23 (3) and 23 (4) of J&K RTI Act? If not reasons may be provided and if yes how many times such guidelines have been updated till date.
The RTI Application
was returned by the PIO with an ambiguous content. The underlining of certain
points on the Photostat copy of RTI Application that is attached with the PIO’s
letter shows that the PIO has gone through the application and then tried to
mislead the applicants. Deputy Secretary to the Government, GAD as a PIO writes
in reply vide his No: GAD/RTI(Adm)26/2018 Dated:06.04.2018 :
“… the
application fee paid through Indian Postal Order is not appropriate as per the
mandate of Rule 3 of J&K RTI Rules, 2012, which says:
A request for
obtaining information under sub-section (1) of Section 6 shall be accompanied
by an application fee of rupees twenty
by way of cash against proper receipt or by demand draft or banker’s cheque or
Indian Postal order payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority.
There, the
application filed by you is returned with the advise to submit the application
accompanied by a fee of rupees Ten by way of cash against proper receipt or by
demand draft or banker’s cheque or Indian Postal Order payable to the Financial
Advisor/CAO, General Administration Department as per Rule 3 of J&K RTI
Rules, 2012”.
The reply is
misleading and it seems that the PIO of GAD is himself unaware about Rule 3.
Under Rule 3 of J&K RTI Rules, 2012, the application is to be accompanied
with Ten Rupees as initial fee and not Rupees Twenty. Further if in first para,
PIO himself states RTI Rules 2012 wherein it is clearly mentioned that the IPO
is payable to the Accounts Officer of the Pubic Authority, then why in Para 2
he says the IPO should be payable to the Financial Advisor. It is totally
violation of law by the PIO and misleading the application by the GAD is quite
disheartening.
Conclusion:
Under Section
23 of the J&K RTI Act 2009, it is the responsibility of the Government to
prepare Programmes for awareness related to RTI Act and the people are still
waiting for user guide in official language of state (Urdu). The application is
a consequence of the same. RTI Activists of the valley are mostly
self-employed, students or employed, they are reading this 32 paged act and
trying to aware people in general. But it is very unfortunate that the PIO’s,
who are now mostly KAS/IAS officers or senior officials like in the above case
of the rank of Deputy Secretary to Government, cannot read this Act and are proving
either lackadaisical towards RTI or trying to abolish the Act. If such a reply
comes from PIO of GAD, what can we expect from other Public Authorities who can
easily defend themselves by saying that Government does not organize awareness
programmes. It is government’s responsibility to implement Section 23 and at
the same time Commission must penalize these top officials who are trying to
deny information to the applicants with misleading replies, otherwise the law
will just gather dust.
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