Greater Kashmir: Srinagar: Friday, January 12, 2018.
Officials
tasked with providing information sought by the people under the Right of
Information Act are not forthcoming in providing the same, suggests data
compiled by the State Information Commission (SIC).
From 1
January to 27 December 2017, as many as 107 RTI applicants have either been
provided incomplete information or denied information altogether by the
information officers concerned, the SIC data said.
Of these107
cases, 71 cases have been disposed of by the SIC.
“The public
information officers and first appellant authorities don’t give information
easily. And if the information is confidential, they try every means to conceal
it, and then the RTI applicants file appeal before us and we make sure they
receive the information,” said an official at the SIC on the condition of
anonymity.
An example of
how the officers concerned withhold information is an RTI application filed
with the Public Information officer (PIO) of the Shri Mata Vaishano Devi Shrine
Board, Katra.
The applicant
had sought information about 12 points, including criteria adopted by shrine
Board for providing financial aid to the poor, details of the beneficiaries,
etc.
A report of
the SIC notes about this RTI that the applicant had filed an appeal with the
first appellate authority as he had said the Board had concealed some
information.
In another
case, an applicant had sought information from the PIO about the beneficiaries
covered under various social welfare schemes and funds received by the
department from the government.
“No
information was received from the said PIO during not only the stipulated time
but even after the lapse of two months, which shows how much RTI Act is being
neglected. The PIO has completely failed to provide information, despite
reminders,” reads a note of the SIC to the PIO.
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