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| SIC sought minor clerical, legal changes; GAD threw all old rules to 'dustbin' | | Sordid saga of J&K RTI Commission! | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Sept 8: In complete contrast to vehement claims of General Administration Department (GAD), State Information Commission (SIC) had sought minor changes in Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information (RTI) Rules-2010.
The Commission had sought certain legal and clerical corrections, said the sources. They added that apart from sending an official communique to Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD) Sheikh Mushtaq, he had also been verbally briefed about the necessity of bringing minor legal and clerical corrections in the rules. The mistakes and legal errors had also been brought to the notice of Law Secretary, Ghulam Hassan Tantray, who is an expert in legal matters.
Commission had called for reducing exorbitant application fee as well as additional fee for copied or created pages. It had requested the Government to bring the fee structure at par with the Central RTI Act. Further, Commission had pointed out that act empowered Secretary to the Commission to appoint Registrar. It had stated that this rule does not make any sense since the two positions are held by officers equivalent in rank.
There was a provision in the rules which allowed commission to deduct penalty imposed on an officer accused of denying information under RTI from the salary of the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) in case the said DDO does not deduct it from the salary of the concerned Public Information Officer (PIO). New rules do not permit the commission to force DDO to deduct penalty from the salary of PIO.
Commission has also been bared from creating endowment fund, something which was in the final stages of completion. Old rules allowed commission to recommend regulations for making the act effective. The new ones have taken away these powers from the commission. Commission has lost power to summon public servants especially IAS, IPS and IFS Babus as and when required for compliance of directions issued to them.
Purportedly on the express directions of an embarrassed Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, sources said that GAD worked overnight to ensure clipping of wings of RTI commission. They added that GAD was strictly told not to take aid and advice of law department, which had originally worked on the existing rules. Sheikh Mushtaq, according to sources did the same and assigned the task of finding way out to a Deputy Secretary.
To the utter surprise of the concerned Deputy Secretary, sources said that he found out that central RTI act has very few rules. He copied the same and in consultation with Mushtaq, ensured that the act losses sheen, said the sources. They stressed that the rules were hurriedly passed during the cabinet meeting.
Sources in the Chief Secretary's office said that IAS lobby has shown the CIC his place by clipping his wings. "Just because Chief Secretary had to appear before commission headed by an officer junior to him, RTI act has suffered. This is an indication that if CS is summoned once more by CIC, act would be amended," said an official. He added that CIC should not have forced the Chief Secretary to appear before it.
What added salt to wounds of Chief Secretary was that the news of him appearing before CIC was allegedly deliberately leaked to media by some officials of commission. This was despite the fact that Chief Secretary Madhav Lal had made all possible efforts to keep his appearance before the commission a 'top secret'.
Meanwhile, State Government recently said that amendments to Right to Information (RTI) Rules-2010 were aimed at removing 'anomalies' in the execution of the act by bringing it at par with the central RTI Act of 2005 and rules framed there under.
Government statement issued through information department added that certain discrepancies existed between the rules and the Act of 2009 as the mandate of the act in the earlier rules was exceeded in respect of certain provisions which made it vulnerable to avoidable litigation. He said the provision regarding initiation of criminal proceedings by the Commission was ultra vires the provisions of RTI Act-2005. It was an error which had to be corrected, he added.
The spokesman said the High Court of J&K in a writ petition PIL No. 28/2011 titled B.R. Manhas Vs State of J&K gave directions for reducing the fee structure under the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Rules, 2010 to bring it at par with the Central Rules. In fact, the State Government agreed before the High Court to reduce the fee structure under the J&K RTI Rules.
The State Chief Information Commissioner, the spokesman added, also vide his DO No. PS/CIC/13/11 dated 12.05.2011 addressed to the Chief Minister indicated glaring disparity between the fee structure and copying charges under the State RTI Rules, 2010 and the Central RTI Rules. He had accordingly recommended reduction in the rates of fee and other charges. This, he said, would make the State RTI Act, 2009 accessible to more people in the J&K State.
Further, the spokesman said, vide communication No. SIC/Co/Adm/18/2012/502 dated 17.04.2012 the State Information Commission proposed modifications in Rule 2(I), Rule 2(3), Rule 2(m), Rule(3), Rule 7, Rule 9, Rule 10 and Rule 36(3) of the J&K RTI Rules, 2010. |
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