The Times of India: Chandigarh: Friday, June 01, 2012.
Haryana government has formulated a policy to protect whistleblowers/RTI activists in the state, according to which, a committee comprising district magistrate, superintendent of police and district attorneys would take a decision on providing security to the activist after reviewing the threat perception.
According to chief secretary, Haryana, P K Chaudhary, "It has been decided that district level committees, under the chairmanship of district magistrates, with SPs and district attorneys as members, will be constituted. The committee will invariably obtain the latest threat assessment from local police and local CID unit. The quantum and type of security for such identified persons would be decided by the DSP having professional competence and experience in the field of securing safety of individuals."
It has also been decided that a higher state level committee shall be constituted under the chairmanship of principal secretary (home), with advocate general (AG) Haryana and DGP as members, to review the decisions of district level committees and monitor their functioning, Chaudhary said.
The decision to formulate the policy has been taken by the state government following the intervention of Punjab and Haryana high court, which had asked the state to frame a scheme for granting protection to RTI activists and other whistleblowers.
Haryana government had in September last year informed the HC that protection to activists/whistleblowers would be provided within a week of receiving application apprehending threat by such activists.
At that time, the state had involved police officers only in the committee, constituted for taking a decision on providing security. Subsequently, the HC had asked the state government to provide a mechanism which is more practical by involving civil officers in the said committee, from the point of view of easy accessibility of aggrieved parties. The Punjab government has already evolved a scheme on same lines.
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