Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 17: Terming the amendments in the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act as a setback to RTI movement in the State, first Information Commissioner of the country, Wajahat Habibullah, today asked the State Government to keep the amendments in abeyance.
Sharing his views during a workshop organized by Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Movement (JKRTIM), Chairman National Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah expressed displeasure that even the Information Commissioner, G R Sufi was not consulted by the Government while making the amendments to the RTI ACT. He said the amendments are not in the right spirit adding that might lead to disillusionment among the people more so RTI activists.
“It is not necessary to seek suggestion from Wajahat Habibullah while making amendments to the State RTI Act, but it is imperative that the stake holders are taken on board while doing so. The Chief Information Commissioner has expressed displeasure over the amendments and this is not good for the future of the RTI movement in Jammu and Kashmir,” said Habibullah.
Habibullah who was the first Chief Information Commissioner of the country said that he has already written to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about the amendments. He said that Omar has acknowledged the communication adding that the follow-up action is yet to be taken by the Chief Minister or the State Government.
“I wrote a letter to the Chief Minister on October 15 seeking his intervention in the roll-back of the amendments to the RTI Act in the state. He acknowledged the letter and got back to me just few days back. I believe the delay in the follow up action has taken place due to the fact offices shifted from Srinagar to Jammu during the time communication was going on,” said Habibullah.
He said that the State Government should take a cue from the Central Government and drop the amendments in the State RTI Act. He added that the Central Government was forced to drop the amendments in the Central RTI Act after pressure and resentment from different sections of the society.
“In 2006 the Central Government proposed to make amendments in the Central RTI Act. However, people belong to varying sections of society like politics, civil society, RTI movement and journalism resisted the move and raised strong protest. Due to the pressure the Government had to drop the amendments. The State Government should take a leaf from this thing and keep the amendments at bay,” said Habibullah.
He said that it was due to strong RTI movement that scams like 2G spectrum, commonwealth games and Adarsh Housing Society came to the fore. He said the RTI movement is in favour of the government as it exposes the chinks in their functioning thus helping them to improve their performance.
“The departments should display all the information except confidential information on the website. If this is done then there would be less RTI applications and the system would be a transparent one. It is also mandatory for the departments to provide a report to the Information Commission about the action taken on RTI applications. The final report is then presented before the Parliament,” said Habibullah.
He said that Gram Sabhas of the State should hold meetings regularly so that impetus is given to the RTI movement in the State and problems of the people are solved. He said Panchs and Sarpanchs should play more pro-active role in mitigating problems of the people living in the rural and far-flung areas of the State.
JKRTIM Convener, Dr. Sheikh Ghulam Rasool said that JKRTIM is apolitical group working for making a transparent and accountable system in the State. He said the group would work on issues like environment and health in the near future adding that this would bring relief to the people.
“We would strive and struggle for ensuring a transparent and accountable system in the State. We are apolitical and have started this movement for the overall good and not for our personal benefits. We would continue to carry on with our activities and in the coming days we would expand our area of activities,” said Dr. Ghulam Rasool.
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