Rising Kashmir: Jammu: Friday,
May 31, 2013.
Insisting on
the need to sensitise Public Information Officers (PIO) to check misuse of
Right to Information (RTI) Act, chairman of the National Minority Commission
(NMC) today said, "proactive" disclosure can help in preventing
exploitation of the Act.
"Right
to Information Act can be misused, but a pro-active disclosure can check it.
There is a need to sensitise Public Information Officers in this regard,"
NMC chairman Wajahat Habibullah said during a two-day long state level workshop
organised by Sangarsh RTI Movement in association with Commonwealth Human
Rights Initiative (CHRI) here.
When asked
about the letter written by him to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah expressing displeasure over amendment of RTI Act in the state,
Habibullah said the government in its reply stated that people were happy with
changes in certain rules.
Raman Sharma,
an RTI activist from Jammu, however, flayed the claims made by government and
said, "State government is misleading people, amendments made to the RTI
Act have weakened it."
Earlier,
speaking on implementation of RTI Act in the state, Additional Deputy
Commissioner Jammu Rehana Batool said though the Act was people friendly, some
were misusing it.
"It has
been misused. There have been instances where people have used it to settle
their biases," Rehana said.
She, however,
assured RTI activists present on the occasion of all possible support in their
movement towards transparency.
While
appreciating the organisers for their effort of taking RTI to the people,
Habibullah urged upon participants to use the Act for public interest. He also
unveiled a book titled 'Your Guide to Using the J-K RTI Act' on the occasion.
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