Can't BDOs share info under RTI in Poonch? - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir

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Can't BDOs share info under RTI in Poonch?

Comedy of errors

6/19/2018 11:05:39 PM

Early Times Report

Jammu, June 19: Rural Development Department (RDD) Jammu has once against been caught on the wrong foot as all the Block Development Officers (BDO) in Poonch district have been designated as Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs) instead of Public Information Officers (PIOs). Ironically the Assistant Commissioner Development (ACD) Poonch has been designated as PIO and First Appellate Authority (FAA) as well. As per the provisions of J&K RTI Act 2009 , APIOs cannot provide information directly under RTI as they have to only assist the PIOs. In most of the Govt offices APIOs are non gazette officers. From last 9 years all the BDOs in J&K perform duties of PIOs as well , but nobody knows who has advised Director Rural Development Jammu or ACD Poonch to designate all the BDOs of various blocks of Poonch as APIOs?
"If ACD Poonch is designated First Appellate Authority (FAA) who are his PIOs in the district ? It is understood that ACD functions as FAA for BDOs who are designated PIOs in all the districts , but in Poonch when all the BDOs are APIOs how can ACD hear appeals against them ? ACD who is also FAA has to hear appeals against PIOs but not even a single BDO is designated PIO in this district. FAA cannot directly hear appeal against APIO or an information seeker cannot file an RTI application before an APIO. I believe this is happening due to lack of RTI knowledge and training which needs to be addressed and Govt must fulfil its obligations under section 23 of J&K RTI Act 2009 wherein it has to train PIOs and FAAs across state. I am not able to understand how come ACD Poonch has designated himself as PIO and FAA both ? This is a burden on him and people who have to approach his office to seek information . How can an information seeker from Mendhar or Mandi come to Poonch to seek information ? Why not empower local BDOs for the same and designate them full fledged PIOs which is common practice in all the districts of state ? "said Dr Raja Muzaffar Founder / Chairman of J&K RTI Movement. It is 10th year since J&K RTI Act 2009 got enacted in Jammu & Kashmir, but it seems officers at the helm of affairs are still not aware about the Right to Information Law. RTI calls for appointment of Public Information Officers (PIO) in each public authority. In Poonch district until recently almost all the district officers had been designated as Assistant PIOs (APIOs) which means they can't provide information to people under RTI Act as their job is to assist the PIOs whose details are not at all available. Now the same has been corrected but the block / tehsil level officers have not been designated as PIOs. "Tehsildars and BDOs in almost all the districts are designated PIOs except Poonch. Infact the details of PIOs in Tehsil offices of Poonch is not at all available on Poonch district website www.poonch.gov.in. People are not aware whether Tehsidars in Poonch are PIOs or not? "said Mohammad Sidiq RTI activist from Rajouri.

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