Rising Kashmir Daily: Srinagar: Monday, July 24, 2017.
Right to
Information (RTI) is an important instrument for strengthening democracy and
accelerating economic development of the rural areas in particular. Right to
Information Act provides impetus for development process and remedy corruption
in public authorities.
Though the
Act exempts certain categories of information from disclosure, it is extremely
helpful for the socio-economic development of the rural areas. There are many
government schemes and crores of rupees are pumped in the name of targeted
programmes into rural development projects. Progress has been made but not to
the desired extent.
Rural Kashmir
is still marked by high incidence of illiteracy, unemployment, malnutrition
among infants, poor infrastructure, lack of participation of women and other
vulnerable groups in economic activities and many other socio-economic
problems. This was admitted by the District Development Commissioner Budgam in
a Round Table Conference on RTI that was held at Conference Hall DC Office
Budgam on 18th of July 2016.
Besides
presenting District Budgam as the most backward in the state, The DDC dismayed
over the poor literacy rate of the rural areas like Hardpanzoo, Khag, Khansahib
etc. wherein literacy rate is around 40 percent only.
The failure
in improving the rural scenario is attributed less to the formulation of
policies and more to their implementation. The problem lies in ignorance on the
part of people about the details of the programmes and prevalence of widespread
corruption during their execution. It is in this background that RTI Act makes
path-breaking impacts.
RTI and
Development (Case Study)
Information
is said to be the key to socio-economic development of any nation. Many civic
groups are using the right to information much like a weapon in their
respective battles.
In Baramulla,
Nasir Hussain Sofi, who is an illiterate but conscious citizen of a tail end
village “Mallabuchan”, joined us in J&K RTI Foundation last year in 2016.
We were successful in motivating and awaking him that it is not that the
government has no money to spend on the welfare of people; but that much of
this money gets illegally diverted.
We provided
him training on RTI and till now he has filed just two RTI Applications, one in
the office of I&FC Tangmarg and another in the ACD Office Baramulla.
His first
application has resulted in the construction of a bund at his village which
saved five other villages as well from the Nallah Ferozpora floods recently.
The long pending demand of people for the construction of bund was fulfilled
within three days from the date of filing RTI Application and this success
story was published in the book released by Rajnath Singh in the annual
convention on RTI at New Delhi in 2016.
Another RTI
that he has filed in the ACD Office has already exposed a scam of SBM Scheme
and an amount of Rs 75000 has been recovered from the concerned sarpanch who
along with the field functionaries of the RDD had misappropriated the funds.
The complaint is under process at the State Information Commission.
Within two
weeks three gram sabhashave been conducted in the halqa and a vigilance
committee has formed for the effective implementation of the RDD schemes.
Everybody now
thinks of the rural development than the embezzlement of funds. Nasir Hussain
Sofi is very much empowered when he finds his village getting developed by the
effective use of RTI.
Considering
the importance of RTI Act for sustainable rural development, many social
scientists have presented their well-considered views on different issues
pertaining to the development of rural economy.
The Round
Table Conference that was chaired by Chief Information Commissioner, Khursheed
Ahmad Ganaie at Budgam has brought some important realities of the native
district of prominent RTI Activists.
Only around
1300 applications have been filed in 2016-17 which means only around 0.95
percent of people have used the Act. Our current State Chief Information
Commissioners, Khursheed Ahmad Ganie, since from the day he was appointed as CIC,
has shown his interest towards the effective implementation and awareness of
RTI in the state.
He seems to
have reinitiated the whole process, thereby warning PIO’s, passing orders for
appointment PIOs/FAAs and stressing on suomotu disclosure and use of RTI as an
engine of development.
The passion
of our State Chief Information Commissioner Khursheed Ahmad Ganie for the
promotion and effective implementation of Right to Information in the State to
bring transparency and accountability is clearly visible and first time in
J&K, are seen together, the activists and the PIOs/FAAs, discussing the RTI
Act’s implementation on regular basis. This was the fifth round table
conference on RTI in the state chaired by Khursheed.
Since his
appointment that was attended by District Development Commissioner, all
PIO’s/APIO’s, FAA’s and RTI Activists from different areas of the valley. Since
we are having only one Commissioner for SIC at present, it becomes the deemed
responsibility of all the PIOs/FAAs/Activists and all other stakeholders of RTI
to work for the promotion of RTI in the state so that it could be used as an
effective tool of development.
Greater
access of rural communities to information could significantly improve the standard
of living of the rural people in such a way that it will definitely make us a
power.
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