Kasmir
Monitor: Srinagar: Monday, 23 March 2015.
Six years
since the landmark legislation Right to Information Act was implemented in the
state, the government itself has failed to adhere to the guidelines of law on
voluntary disclosure of information.
Ironically,
when one would at least expect the institutions of justice and legislation to
comply with the law, both the legislatures Assembly and Council, and the High
Court have also failed to make voluntary disclosure under various sub-sections
of Section 4 (1) of the Act.
Despite the
recent rebuke from the Governor N N Vohra on the administrative failure to
implement the provisions of the act, over a dozen government departments have
failed to disclose information as determined by the law.
According to
the section 4 (1) (b) of J&K RTI Act, public authorities are required to
voluntarily declare information like organizational structure, monthly
remuneration of employees, budget expenditure etc. and publish same on the
official websites.
“It shall be
a constant endeavor of every public authority to take steps in accordance with
the requirements of clause (b) of subsection (1) to provide as much information
suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of
communications including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to
the use of the Act to obtain information,” reads the RTI Act.
RTI activists
are peeved with the government for its failure to implement the provisions of
the act. “RTI Act was enacted on March 20th 2009 but even after six years the
government departments have miserably failed to adhere to the guidelines of
this historic law when they were required to publish the details within 120
days from the commencement of act,” an RTI activist told The Kashmir Monitor.
Several
departments like Command Area Development, Directorate of Horticulture and
Agriculture, Director School Education, CAPD department, SKIMS, GMC, SDA, SMC
are yet to publish the 17 types of information in public domain as required by
the legislation.
The Chief
Information Commissioner, when contacted, declined to comment over phone.
Governor N N
Vohra during the brief gubernatorial rule in the state had reproved the
departments in January for ignoring the RTI guidelines on voluntary disclosure
of information and in an order through General Administration Department
directed the administrative secretaries to implement provisions of the Act in
“letter and spirit” to ensure transparency and accountability.
“It has been
observed that the provisions of Section 4 of the J&K Right to Information
Act, 2009, are not being followed strictly and despite repeated instructions,
many departments have not hosted the requisite information, as required under
the Act. The other measures for introducing transparency like electronic mode
of payments also need further impetus and attention,” Ashraf Bukhari, Secretary
to the GAD had said in the order addressed to administrative secretaries.
The J&K
RTI Act will complete six years this week but the failure to implement some of
its major provisions is a question mark over the administrative willingness to
comply with its own laws.
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