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| RDD Marwah defies SIC directions | | Info under RTI Act denied | | Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
kishtwar, July 15: In a brazen act of refusal to follow the directions and orders passed by the successive authorities including the State Information Commissioner, the Block Development Officer (BDO) Marwah Raiz Ahmed Lone (now attached in the office of Director General RDD Jammu) did not provide the information to an RTI applicant in response to the RTI filed by him on 7-11-2017.
As per the details available with "Early Times" there are mass scale bungling in MGNREGA, IHL, BRGF, CDF and other related works executed in RDD and PR department reported in the Marwah and Warwan blocks of Kishtwar during the tenure of Raiz as BDO. Raiz is the only matric pass BDO in the state of Jammu and Kashmir posted in violation of the rules and regulation as the norms allowed only graduate officials to be posted as BDO or I/C BDO in any block of the state.
Raiz, according to various RTI applicants, in order to cover the various embezzlements done by him and his family members including his son, daughter and other relatives who are also the employees of RDD department posted in Marwah block, has kept the record hidden.
The other employees including Accountants, VLWs, GRS, Computer Operators and Technical Assistants posted in these two blocks are equal partner in the mass scale embezzlements in Marwah and Warwan blocks. They are continuously refusing to provide the data to the RTI applicants and make them to suffer.
Not only SIC, senior officials of the RDD department also directed the said BDO to provide the information to the RTI applicant, but same was not provided to him by the said BDO, forcing the RTI applicant to approach the office of SIC, J&K who also directed the BDO Raiz Ahmed Lone to provide the information to RTI applicant within 15 days, but to no avail.
As per the order passed by SIC vide Order No. SIC/J/A/05/2019/1057-61 dated 3-6-2019, the Commission stated that the appeal came up for hearing before the commission on 9-04-2019and the hearing was adjourned with the direction to the PIO to provide information to the appellant in the light of the directions issued by the First Appellant Authority (FFA) and also to file counter statement in the appeal within a period of two weeks, beside the PIO has been asked to explain his absence from the hearing.
The commission further stated that the appeal again came for hearing before the commission on 27-5-2019, but the PIO again did not cause his appearance in spite of notice issued to him and was absent during the last hearing as well and did not file any counter statement. The PIO also fail to comply with the directions issued by the Commission vide its interim order dated 9-4-2019, the appellant submitted that no information was provided to him by the PIO till date.
"By his failure to provide information to the appellant in spite of directions issued by the FFA and also by falling to appear before the commission in this appeal on consecutive hearings, the PIO has violated the provisions of the J&K RTI, Act 2009. A Prima facie case is established for proceeding against the PIO/BDO Marwah under section 17 of the J&K RTI Act, 2009," stated the SIC order.
The commission also issued show cause notice to Raiz Ahmed Lone, BDO Marwah to explain why penalties as envisaged under section 17 of the J&K RTI Act 2009, shall not be imposed on him.
The PIO was again directed to provide the information to RTI applicant which was again not provided to him by the PIO/BDO Marwah even after 40 days since the SIC passed the directions.
Speaking to "Early Times" the RTI applicant Abid Hussain Lone said that the BDO is habitual of taking the RTI Act to ride and did not provide information to anyone under RTI Act and added that in another RTI application filed by Ghulam Rasool Magrey and Abdul Wahid Malik, the commission also passed similar order, but till date no concrete action was initiated against the erring BDO till date.
"He (BDO) is ready to deposit Rs. 25000 penalty to be imposed under provision of RTI Act, but is not ready to provide information to RTI applicants as same can open the Pandora's box of mass scale bungling in the RDD Marwah," said Abid Hussain.
He said that strict action must be initiated against the BDO Marwah for taking the highest institution like SIC for ride by denying following its direction.
Some RTI activist also called by termination of services of the BDO Marwah under deadwood and also called for constitution of high level inquiry committee for conducting probe into mass scale embezzlements in Marwah, Warwan and Dachhan blocks of Kishtwar. |
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