Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, Feb 23: In a violation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and the directives of the Chief Information Commission (CIC), authorities in north Kashmir’s Kupwara have refused to provide land record details that are not available on the J&K land records portal.
An RTI application filed in this regard sought mutation details of land transactions at Bowan and Watsar villages along Handwara-Bangus Road from Tehsildar Zachaldara.
However, the request was denied, citing the information as “personal and third-party data.”
The applicant, Rasikh Rasool, who is also a lawyer, said the application was rejected by invoking Sections 8 and 11 of the RTI Act 2005, describing the requested information as personal and third-party data.
He, however, emphasized that the transparency of land records is mandated under Section 4(1)(B) of the RTI Act and the Public Records Act, 1993.
He cited a landmark decision by the CIC on 29/12/2014 in case No. CIC/SA/A/2014/000462, which stated that land records are public information and cannot be denied under the RTI Act 2005.
The application had sought mutation details of land records with complete information, including the addresses of buyers and sellers, seller transferees, gift deeds, and other relevant details from 2016 to the present.
The request specifically concerned land located within 2 km on both sides of the Handwara-Bangus Road under the jurisdiction of the R&B Division Handwara in Bowan and Watsar villages of Zachaldara Tehsil.
“It is shocking and an open challenge to the laws of the land, as well as to transparency and accountability,” he said.
“Land records are neither personal nor third-party information under the provisions of the RTI Act 2005. It is the duty of the Revenue Department to make all updated land records open for public scrutiny,” he added
“As the requested information pertains to third parties, their consent was sought under Section 11(1) of the RTI Act, 2005. The concerned individuals have expressly refused to disclose the sought information,” reads the reply from the Tehsildar.
It added further that in light of their refusal regarding disclosure of personal information and as per Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005, “which exempts the disclosure of personal information where it would cause an unwarranted invasion of privacy and does not serve a larger public interest, your request is hereby denied.”
Notably, in the 2014 order, the CIC had stated that records containing the names of different owners, along with details of boundaries and the extent of land owned or possessed by the public authority, are neither private information nor third-party information.
“There is a digital land records portal in J&K dedicated to the general public, but it has not been updated for two years. That is why I filed the RTI to seek the information,” the applicant said.
The reply from the authorities, has however, noted: “if you establish that the disclosure of this information is necessary in the public interest, particularly for promoting transparency and accountability, the matter may be reconsidered for disclosure upon further evaluation.”
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