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| 5 years on, RTI awareness programme in J&K fails to kickstart | | Activists mulling to file PIL | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, July 9: Under section 23 of State Right to Information Act the Government of Jammu and Kashmir is supposed to undertake awareness programmes on Right to Information Act (RTI) in the nook and corner of the state with special focus on disadvantaged communities but the Government led by Omar Abdullah which claims to have made a great achievement by enacting J&K RTI Act 2009 has failed to even organize a single such programme in the state from the last five years.
Government has been publishing advertisements in the local dailies, radio and TV about various schemes and programmes and for doing all this crores of rupees have already been spent from the last five years but Government hardly bothered to publish similar advertisement viz a viz RTI.
As per reliable sources not a single advertisement was seen in any of the local daily related to RTI from 2009 till date and this punctures the Government's tall claims wherein it gives credit to itself of having enacted a historic law in the form of RTI in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Doordarshan Srinagar, Jammu as well as Radio Kashmir Srinagar / Jammu too have failed to create awareness about RTI. Even the Director General of Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corporation of India news had written to Wajahat Habibullah former Chief Information Commissioner Govt of India that Radio Kashmir Srinagar and Jammu have been directed to mount suitable number of news based programmes on JK RTI Act 2009 in Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri languages.
The DG had said in the letter that the radio stations at Srinagar and Jammu have been also asked to take necessary steps to create awareness about RTI Act in J&K state.
A group of RTI activists from J&K had approached Wajahat Habibullah in New Delhi during May last year and had raised the issue related to lack of awareness about Right to Information Act in J&K State . The activists had requested Wajahat Habibullah to take up the matter with CEO Prasar Bharti so that radio stations in Jammu and Kashmir air programmes on J&K RTI Act 2009 which would help to create awareness about this act at grass root level. Wajahat Habibullah who also happens to be the former Chief Information Commissioner of Central Information Commission (CIC) wrote a DO letter to CEO Prasar Bharti New Delhi in May. The CEO forwarded the letter to DG (News) Archana Datta who send an official reply vide letter No: NSD/PP&D/VIP/2010/367 dated 15/7/2013 to Habibullah which reads as:
"May kindly refer to you DO letter dated 16th May 2013 addressed to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Prasar Bharti enclosing a representation from RTI activists from J&K for mounting weekly programme on RTI Act in Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri for awareness of the people of J&K
I would like to inform you that, I have already directed the head of office Radio Kashmir Srinagar to mount a suitable number of news based programmes on J&K RTI Act 2009 in Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri and take necessary steps to create an awareness among the people of the state about the act. The advisory has also been issued to them that centrally sponsored schemes should be covered widely in news bulletins and news based programmes so that eligible people can benefit from these schemes".
"Inspite of the direction from DG Prasar Bharti the Radio Kashmir Srinagar as well as Jammu have failed to air such awareness programmes. The news bulletins and Sheherben carry much news items about politics and politicians and RTI finds a no space, we hope that station directors must look into this matter and make necessary arrangement to air RTI related programmes in Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri so that people living in the remotest corners of the state could be made aware about RTI Act," said Dr Mushtaq Khan renowned RTI activist and senior member of J&K RTI Movement.
"The Government led by Omar Abdullah is misleading people about RTI Act. As on date only 5 % people are familiar with the provisions of J&K RTI Act 2009 and it was the duty of the Government as well as Doordarshan and Radio to undertake massive RTI awareness programmes for the people of J&K, but all of them have miserably failed to do so said," Dr Mushtaq Khan said while talking to Early Times. " We will be forced to knock the doors of judiciary now where we plan to file PIL," Dr Mushtaq added. |
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