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| Coincidence or Bureaucratic vengeance? CIC reduced to 'toothless tiger' | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Sept 6: Call it coincidence or Bureaucratic vengeance but something 'extraordinary' seems to have cost State Information Commission heavily with General Administration Department (GAD) stepping in directly to amend the rules for the implementation of Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Contrary to repeated pronouncements of Government that the rules have been amended to bring J&K RTI Act at par with the Central RTI Act, an in-depth investigation has brought forth spine chilling revelations. RTI Commission's desire to ensure compliance of Section 4 of the Act seems to have acted as spoiler of the camaraderie which seemingly existed there between the State Government and the Commission.
Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) G.R. Sofi seems to have breached the line and gone beyond the brief in his bid to see RTI becoming an effective tool in fighting corruption. Sources said that CIC had summoned Chief Secretary Madhav Lal to the commission's office in Srinagar in the month of February. The legally justifiable move was intended at urging Chief Secretary, who is administrative head of State bureaucracy, to ensure compliance of section 4, said the sources.
As per the section (4) of the JK RTI Act, the public authorities are supposed to make pro-active disclosures about their organizations/departments. Sources in the Chief Secretary's office said that the administrative head of State bureaucracy was summoned after "he did not respond to the repeated communiques from the Commission on the issue."
They said that the summons seemingly did not please the IAS babu. "We received umpteen letters from the CIC asking State Government including Chief Secretary to make pro-active disclosures. A copy of the letter, bearing number SIC-J/15/2009-II, dated: 15/06/2011 shot by the Secretary SIC to the Special Secretary to Chief Secretary also pointing towards failure of the Government departments in disclosing the information suo-moto is available with Early Times.
This was followed by CIC asking CS to appear in person before the Commission," said an official in the Chief Secretary's office. He added that the summons did not please the Chief Secretary. Displeasure of the Chief Secretary can be gauged from the fact that Madhav Lal's office rang up CIC, informing them that he would present himself before the Commission at around 5.45 PM i.e. after the working hours of the Commission, sources disclosed.
They said that CIC and CS had 'an eventful hour long interactive session'. During this session, sources said that CIC asked CS to pass directions immediately to the Government departments on making pro-active disclosures forthwith. This was for the first time that J&K's top bureaucrat had to appear before CIC, confirmed the sources.
This seemed to have hurt the Chief Secretary, who is a 1977 batch IAS officer while Sufi is also from the same batch but is an IRS officer, sources said. Consequent upon this, sources said that GAD was pressed into service and rules were amended overnight. They maintained that from 51, Right to Information rules have been reduced to 13.
New rules have ensured that Commission is no more a civil court where absence would mean inviting wrath of the CIC. Not only this, if any question of interpretation of the rules arises, new rules have vested all powers with GAD to take a final decision. In the rules which have been amended, GAD had been given the powers to make interpretations but not without consulting the Law Department which is known as legal extension of State Government.
The amendment has given powers to Chief Secretary, who actually runs the GAD to interpret the rules according to his own whims and fancies. Officials in the Civil Secretariat maintain that amendments are intended at keeping the CIC silent and ensuring that it does not hurt the 'image conscious IAS Babus'. |
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