RTI Act in J&K: A Missed Opportunity

Though the national RTI law has been extended to J&K, very few officials have been trained on how to implement it. After the PDP joined hands with the BJP in 2015, the institution of RTI got a huge setback. The government didn't bother to train designated officers. Awareness programmes were hardly held for citizens. There was a legal provision in the erstwhile law under (Section 23 of the J&K RTI Act 2009) about such awareness and training programmes, but this was not implemented, writes RAJA MUZAFFAR BHAT from Srinagar.  

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TO ensure good governance and accountability of public authorities, transparency activists are trying their best to make government officials answerable to people. While the Right to Information (RTI) law is being used as a tool across the world, in India, it is used more rigorously by activists and journalists.

For many years, people in J&K were using a weak RTI law (J&K RTI Act 2004) even though the Congress-led UPA-I government at the centre had enacted RTI Act 2005, which is considered one of the best laws on access to information. But this was not extended to J&K.

Instead, the J&K government had enacted the J&K RTI Act 2004 a year earlier. Compared to the 2005 RTI Act, the J&K one was a much weaker legislation. For five years, the people of J&K, including Ladakh, were compelled to use this law. Penalty proceedings could not be initiated against erring officials denying information and the aggrieved could not appeal before an independent appellate commission as the J&K RTI Act 2004 has no such legal provision.

ARTICLE 370 NO IMPEDIMENT  

Article 370 was never an impediment in extending central laws to J&K. Even before the abrogation of Article 370, many central legislations were extended to J&K through a democratic process after being ratified by J&K's legislature. Some draconian laws had, in fact, been extended to J&K during Governor's Rule in the early 1990s like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 and Disturbed Areas Act 1976.

Historic laws such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act were extended to J&K in 2006 after a year of enactment. It was ratified by the J&K assembly during Ghulam Nabi Azad's tenure as chief minister. In Phase 1, the law was made applicable in Poonch and Kupwara districts. It was then extended to Jammu and Anantnag districts in the Phase 2 (2007). In Phase 3 (2008-09), the law was extended to all districts of J&K, including Ladakh. In 2017, central laws such as the National Food Security Act and Goods and Services Tax Act were extended to J&K.

After our hectic lobbying and advocacy, the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference-Congress coalition government in 2009 enacted the J&K Right to Information Act 2009. This law was, in fact, better than RTI Act 2005 in view of its time-bound appeal disposal mechanism. The erstwhile J&K State Information Commission was under legal obligation to dispose of the 2^nd appeal within 60 days, which could be extended to 120 days.

In case of appeal disposal taking more than 60 days, the Commission had to apprise the appellant in writing why more time was needed. Unfortunately, the J&K RTI Act 2009 law was repealed soon after abrogation of Article 370. This, even as more than 100 erstwhile J&K state laws were protected, including another progressive law—the J&K Public Services Guarantee Act 2011, which has been kept in a state of suspended animation by the present UT Administration in J&K.

JUDICIAL INTERVENTION FOR RTI

After the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) joined hands with the BJP in 2015 to form a coalition government, the institution of RTI got a huge setback. The government didn't bother to train designated officers. Awareness programmes were hardly held for citizens, especially disadvantaged communities. There was a legal provision in the erstwhile law under (Section 23 of the J&K RTI Act 2009) about such awareness and training programmes.

When the government failed to act, I was forced to seek judicial intervention in 2018 by filing a PIL before the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir. It was surprising to know that only two RTI workshops had been conducted between 2015 and 2018. This was revealed by the government in a written response before the High Court. The J&K Institute of Management Public Administration & Rural Development (IMPARD), a government-controlled training institution, had organised these workshops where 42 officers, mostly Public Information Officers (PIOs) and First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), were trained.

In response to my PIL, surprisingly, a false information was submitted by the then Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, to the General Administration Department (GAD). It was claimed that 617 RTI workshops were conducted in Rajouri for citizens between 2012 and 2018. GAD submitted these details to the High Court.

When I sought the participants' list, photos, press releases, videos and other details of the workshops by filing a separate RTI application, the DC office Rajouri said no photos, videos or official press releases were available. I submitted a counter statement before the High Court exposing the DC office Rajouri, but the PIL on J&K RTI Act 2009 became automatically infructuous after abrogation of Article 370 as the said law was also repealed.

In contrast to this, between 2011 and 2013, more than 75 RTI workshops were conducted by IMPARD, in which more than 2,500 government officers were trained. This was also revealed through a written response by the government to the High Court.

In addition to it, G R Sufi and Khurshid Ganai, former State Chief Information Commissioners, also conducted several RTI and sensitisation workshops in various districts of J&K and Ladakh. The government also failed to digitise its record and make its voluntary disclosure, as mandated under the J&K RTI Act 2009. There is a similar provision in RTI Act 2005. Ganai issued at least three circulars between 2017 and 2018 to the government, but there was always a lukewarm response from public authorities.

This is much worse now. In spite of the Lt-Governor's intervention on digitisation of government records and updation of websites, government officers are least bothered. The GAD secretary even issued a circular and gave a deadline of February 18, but nobody knows what happened after that. I had brought this matter to the notice of the L-G, Manoj Sinha, during a meeting on January 18, 2021.

NO WORKSHOPS ON RTI FROM 2018 

I had never imagined that a time would come when not even two dozen officers would be trained by the government in three years. From June 18, 2018, soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP-lead government in J&K, we are directly ruled by centre, but accountability in government offices wasn't satisfactory at all. The PIL on RTI implementation has been dismissed on technical grounds.

Now RTI Act 2005 has been extended to J&K, creating many difficulties for us. The people of J&K and Ladakh have been deprived of a separate State Information Commission. We file our 2^nd appeal before the Central Information Commission, where it takes years to get justice. We feel disempowered, dejected and rejected. I am now planning to file a fresh PIL on non-implementation of RTI Act 2005.

Isn't it the duty of the present government to make the designated FAAs and PIOs aware of the provisions of RTI Act 2005? Those trained between 2011 and 2015 have retired or been promoted to higher posts. Who will reach out to the people, especially those living in far-off regions in J&K and Ladakh? Don't these people have the right to access information from the government?

Has any district administration conducted any RTI awareness programmes in Kargil, Zanskar, Drass or Nubra areas of Ladakh in the last three years? Has any workshop on RTI been organised in Kupwara or Kishtwar? Unfortunately, the government has not even trained its designated officials in Budgam district, which is located near Srinagar. In January this year, under RTI Act 2005, I sought details about such awareness programmes/workshops in Budgam conducted between November 1, 2019 and January 2020.

The Assistant Commissioner Revenue, who is the designated PIO in the deputy commissioner's office, Budgam, gave me a misleading reply. He said information is not available in the repository of his office. I didn't ask for a 40- or 50-year-old official record.

I don't blame the poor PIO, but the authorities at the helm are to be blamed. After all, they had claimed that people in J&K would get effective  governance and corruption would end after the abrogation of Article 370. Unfortunately, people are not even able to seek information from a tehsildar or a block development officer. Is this a responsive administration? Was Article 370 abrogated for all this?

DORMANT GOVERNMENT

The government is under a legal obligation to make people aware about RTI law, plus hold training sessions for designated officers so that they have a better understanding of the RTI Act. Section 26 of RTI Act 2005 says that the government has to develop and organise educational programmes to advance the understanding of the public, in particular disadvantaged communities, as to how to exercise the rights contemplated under the RTI Act.

Section 26 of RTI Act 2005 further reads: "Encourage public authorities to participate in the development and organisation of programmes referred to in clause (a) and to undertake such programmes themselves. Promote timely and effective dissemination of accurate information by public authorities about their activities and  train Central Public Information Officers or State Public Information Officers, as the case may be of public authorities and produce relevant training materials for use by the public authorities themselves."

By not creating awareness about the Act, the government is not only defeating the institution of RTI in J&K, but depriving people of freedom of expression and speech as well. The government will have an excuse of Covid-19, but what has stopped it from having online sessions on Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, etc? If the government was sincere, hundreds of officials could have been trained through these online platforms in the last one year.

A golden opportunity was lost. 

(Raja Muzaffar Bhat is a Srinagar-based activist, columnist and independent researcher. He is an Acumen India fellow. The views expressed are personal.)