GreaterKashmir.com: Srinagar: Friday, July 06, 2012.
In the wake of recurring complaints against the Muslim Waqf Board, the State Information Commission [SIC] is all set to ask the Board authorities to ensure total implementation of the J&K Right to Information Act-2009.
Informed sources told Greater Kashmir that SIC is “actively engaged in preparing a detailed note over the laxities of Waqf Board in implementing the RTI Act.” “The note along with the directions would be sent to the Board within a couple of days,” they said.
The Commission move also comes in the backdrop of frequent complaints that the Wakf Board was “sloppy” in making voluntary disclosure under the Act, besides failing to upload the names of Public Information Officer and First Appellate Authority (FAA) on its website.
As per the RTI Act, all public authorities have to display information about their PIOs and FAAs on their websites.
“The Commission cannot be silent on ensuring transparency and accountability in the prestigious institution like Waqf Board, which deals with shrines and Muslim properties. The Commission has also received complaints on sloppy implementation of the Act by the Board. So it becomes imperative to ask the Board to implement the Act in letter and spirit,” the sources said.
Sources said the Chief Information Commissioner GR Sufi has asked the SIC officials to dispatch the note to the Board without any delay.
The Board, pertinently, has come under the sharp scanner of the civil society for allegedly failing to properly utilize funds and build institutions, as is the case with other such Boards outside the state. The Wakf Board has come in the line of criticism especially after the gutting of the 200-year-old Dastgeer Sahib (RA) shrine in Khanyar here recently. The civil society flayed the failure of the Board to equip the shrines with fire-extinguishers and fire-tenders, even after earning revenue of millions of rupees annually.
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