Delaying tactic? Panel set up to 'examine' how to implement RTI in UT of J&K

By A Representative
In a surprising move, the newly-created Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), despite having lost its special status, and the Government of India (GoI) claim that its citizens have "equal rights" as those enjoyed by others in the country, has begun a parallel process of examining the Central Right to Information (RTI) Act's applicability to the UT.
Calling this a delay tactic to implement RTI Act in J&K, Venkatesh Nayak of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), New Delhi, has said that the transition process would have gone smoothly "but for the spanner in the works thrown by J&K General Administration Department (GAD)."
In an email alert, Nayak says, he made an RTI application to the Departmrnt of Personnel and Training (DoPT), GoI, which said, "I am unable to submit this RTI application directly to the concerned public authority in J&K because this RTI Online Facility has not been extended to the UT administration, and also because postal services continue to remain disrupted in the UT."
Nayak's plea follows the J&K RTI Movement, led by Dr Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, as also other private citizens, activists, mediapersons, lawyers and students, wanting to know the status of the RTI Act in J&K after the the state lost its special status and its bifurcation, which automatically led to the dissolution of the J&K RTI Act and the State Information Commission (SIC).
Asserting that since there is "no official statement" from the GoI or the UT administration on this, Nayak says, he submitted an RTI application to the DoPT on October 31, 2019, the day the state ceased to exist, wanting to know the total number of appeals and complaints pending before the erstwhile SIC and their fate.
He also sought photocopies of "all correspondence and file notings containing details of action taken to ensure that the appeals and complaints are transferred to a competent authority for disposal", as also of communication between the Central Information and the erstwhile SIC regarding this.
"Strangely", says Nayak, "Despite having initiated action on planning and coordinating the transition from the State's RTI Act (now repealed) to the Central RTI Act, the DoPT elected to transfer the RTI application to the Union Minstry of Home Affairs (MHA) and CIC)." As for MHA, it "transferred the RTI application to the UT of J&K."
Meanwhile, CIC sent "copies of official records and file notings which reveal details of the action taken by DoPT to ensure a smooth transition from the state's RTI regime to the Central RTI regime as applicable to the twin UTs (J&K and Ladakh), including notifying that all public authorities under the erstwhile State RTI Act as public authorities under the Central Act."
But, says Nayak, "The mandarins in JK-GAD have had other ideas. On November 28, JK-GAD constituted a five-member committee under the Chairmanship of its Administrative Secretary to examine this transition issue all over again."
A government order on this says the terms of reference (ToR) of the committee include examining whether the UT of J&K will come under the purview of CIC or a separate UT may be constituted for the state, and to spell out actions required to be taken to redesignate public information officers (PIOs), and whether the UT of J&K comes under CIC's purview.
According to Nayak, "A plain reading of Sections 12-17 of the Central RTI Act will reveal to any right-thinking person that UTs do not have the power to establish and constitute Information Commissions. Only the Centre and full-fledged states can set up such bodies."
He adds, "There was no need to set up a committee to examine this issue in J&K all over again. The J&K-GAD babus could have simply put up a note on this topic and approved what the DoPT had drafted as an action plan after consultation with the CIC."
Nayak notes, "J&K-GAD's action of setting up the five-member committee will only delay the smooth transition for no good reason. All that JK-GAD had to do was draw up a road-map with dates for making the smooth transition as per DoPT's recommendations. Instead bureaucratic red tape is likely to delay the transition process."
He adds, "Pending RTI applications and first appeals will remain that way before the public authorities while the JK-GAD committee deliberates on issues drawn up in its ToR. The files containing pending second appeals and complaints at the State Information will gather dust waiting to be transferred from J&K to the CIC in Delhi until the Committee make its recommendations and the UT administration acts on it."

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog