SRINAGAR, Sep 3: The Government has said that recent amendments to the 2010 rules of J&K Right to Information Act, considered he most successful tool for ransparency and accountability, were aimed at removing anomalies in its execution by bringing it at par with the central RTI Act of 2005 and rules framed for it.
“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,” an official spokesperson said.
It 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.”
The spokesman said the High Court of J&K in a writ petition PIL No. 28/2011 titled B R Manhas v/s 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,” it said.
Days ago, the cabinet passed a new set of rules governing the JK-RTI Act-2009. The new rules snatched the powers of the commission to initiate proceeding against any public servant in case they failed to provide sought information in the stipulated time, among other things like reduction in fee structure.
There was hue and cry among RTI activists and also the head of the State Information Commission after the authorties amended the Act, saying the modifications had rendered the law ‘toothless’.
The official spokesperson, however said, the State Chief Information Commissioner had also 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, 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.
“Consequent upon this a thorough exercise was conducted by the General Administration Department and it was felt that some provisions of the RTI Rules-2010 go beyond the mandate of the RTI Act, 2009 as the said Act neither provides such powers to the Commission nor the Central RTI Rules envisage such powers to the Central Information Commission.”
