Greater Kashmir: Raja Muzaffr Bhatt: Srinagar: Sunday, May 13, 2018.
The 2013 order of State Chief Information Commissioner made it clear that central Government agencies operating in Jammu & Kashmir have to adhere to J&K RTI Act 2009
Recently an information seeker ,namely Raashid Ashraf, from Kralpora, Chadoora, sought information under Central RTI Act 2005 from the works wing of Air Force at Srinagar. The reply from the concerned Garrison Engineer (GE) astonished me. The officer categorically denied to share the information saying Right to Information Act (RTI) is not applicable in Jammu & Kashmir. Raashid, along with another colleague Riyaz, was a contractual employee (DG Set Operators) at Air Force Station Srinagar from last 7 years. They became jobless after being thrown out by the concerned contractor, Junior Engineer (JE) & Assistant Garrison Engineer (AGE) . Their only fault was that they were on the right path and did not follow the dictates of the officers.
Background
Raashid and Riyaz both in their 20s were hired by contractors 8 years back. Riyaz worked as Fitter Generator Mechanic (FGM) and Raashid as DG set operator at old Airfield Srinagar (Air-force 1 wing). They were paid Rs 3000 to 4000 a month for many years while as their actual salary was Rs 7500/- per month. Every month Rs 4000 were illegally deducted from their salary and they kept mum for many years. When the online payments were made mandatory from last year, the Government officers / contractors had to be transparent while disbursing monthly salaries. Online system of payments generated hope for Raashid and Riyaz as both of them were employed as highly skilled labourers. They were entitled for monthly salary of Rs 9840, but the JE , Assistant Garrison Engineer (AGE) and Contractor directed all the contractual employees to repay half of the monthly salary to them as illegal gratification. Most of these poor employees agreed to it but Raashid and Riyaz resisted and were thus shown the door. At their place some non technical people were appointed who did not have mandatory 4 years experience and ITI diploma. In addition more people were hired who too are allegedly unqualified. Raashid and Riyaz approached us few months back. My colleagues from J&K RTI Movement assisted them in filing an application under RTI Act 2005 and sought following information :
List of all the appointees, with name parentage and address, certified copies of their qualification certificates, shiftwise attendance of the appointees and their pass numbers. After expiry of stipulated 30 days Raashid got a speed post letter, he thought it was an RTI reply, but when he opened the envelope he found a letter from Garrison Engineer (GE) Mr D K Kostha. The letter reads as :
“ Refer your application dated 26.3.2018 . It is submitted that RTI Act 2005 is not applicable to State of Jammu & Kashmir . In view of the above your application along with the postal order bearing No : 40 F 602965 Dated : 23.3.2018 for Rs 10 is returned herewith unactioned“
My Argument
If central RTI Act of 2005 is not applicable to Air Force 1 Wing Srinagar it means J&K RTI Act 2009 applies to them. But in past when information was sought from Account General’s Office Srinagar (AG Office) which is a central Government organization under J&K RTI Act 2009 by one Mohammad Afzal Bhat R/O Gulposh Apartments Bemina Srinagar in the year 2011, the AG Office had told information seeker to apply under Central RTI Act 2005 as J&K RTI law was not applicable to them . The matter landed before the then State Chief Information Commissioner Mr G R Sufi who gave a detailed judgment vide Order No: SIC/RK-25/Comp/11-2011/35 dated 18.4.2013. The said order reads as :
“J&K State has a distinctive and distinguishable position in the Union of India in view of a special status conferred on it under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, hence the State Legislature legislates on the matters which other legislatures in the country do not legislate. Therefore, in accordance with this Constitutional Status, the State legislature in its judicial competence has passed State RTI Act, 2009 (Act VIII of 2009 dated: 30-03-2009) which has brought in its ambit State as well as Central Public Authorities working in the State. The CAG is a constitutional body and as such is a Public Authority, hence J&K State RTI Act, 2009 is applicable to it. The State Information Commission is entrusted with the job of ensuring transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority in the State as enshrined in the preamble of J&K RTI Act 2009. The commission has to ensure that right to access the information given to citizens of the State as prescribed in section 3 of State RTI Act is strictly implemented “
Conclusion
The 2013 order of State Chief Information Commissioner G R Sufi has made it clear that central Government agencies operating in Jammu & Kashmir have to adhere to J&K RTI Act 2009. If Garrison Engineer Air Force 1 Wing Srinagar claims that Central RTI Act of 2005 is not applicable to his organization then he should have informed the RTI applicant in writing to seek information under Jammu & Kashmir RTI Act 2009 , but he neither respected Central RTI law not adheres to the J&K State RTI Act of 2009. This is a matter of concern. We have now advised the information seeker to apply before Air Force 1 Wing Srinagar under J&K RTI Act 2009 and we are hopeful information will be provided to him. At the same time we have asked the aggrieved to file a complaint before Central Information Commission (CIC) New Delhi as well. Central Government organizations in J&K are very much accountable to us and I would request people to seek information from them under both State and Central RTI laws .
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