REVOCATION OF ARTICLE 370 HAS WEAKENED THE RTI REGIME OF J&K?

    
     REVOCATION OF ARTICLE 370 HAS WEAKENED THE RTI  REGIME OF J&K?

After the revocation of J&K special status, the Centre has ongoing executing about 150 central laws that are  applicable to J&K. This contains Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI Act 2005) which was prior not valid to public authorities of J&K. RTI Act 2005 was only applicable to central Government organizations operating in J&K until October 31^st 2019 . Jammu & Kashmir state (now Union Territory) including Ladakh were governed by J&K RTI Act 2009 until this law became null and void post article 370 abrogation. Interestingly there are around 166 J&K laws that are still in operation as they have been secure under J&K Reorganization Act 2019.

As J&K has been abridged to a Union Territory, there are legal difficulties in setting up State Information Commission (SIC) in J&K or Ladakh. Under J&K state RTI Act 2009 (now repealed) there was a provision of setting up of State Information Commission (SIC). After our hectic lobbying J&K SIC was constituted for the first time in 2011 when the then Chief Commissioner Income Tax North India Mr G R Sufi was appointed as first State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC). This was followed by appointment of two more commissioners working under him. The State Information Commission (SIC) was operational in J&K until August 5^th 2019 but had to be shut down once for all as J&K's RTI law was repealed. Under RTI Act 2005 which now applies to J&K and Ladakh there is also a provision for setting up of a State Information Commission (SIC) and Central Information Commission (CIC), but J&K being no more a state now cannot have an independent Information Commission. Pertinently Union Territories (UTs) are not allowed to set up Information Commissions under RTI Act 2005 and when one such commission was established in Pondicherry way back in 2006.  the same was shut down by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The matter is now pending for disposal before Madras High Court.

J&K Government vide order No: 112-JK (GAD) of 2019 dated 28.11.2019 had constituted a committee headed by Administrative Secretary General Administration Department (GAD) which was supposed to examine whether J&K state will come under the purview of Central Information Commission (CIC) or a separate Information was to be constituted for Union Territory of J&K ? The committee was supposed to examine whether the officers designated as First Appellate Authorities (FAA's) and Public Information Officers (PIO's) under the repealed J&K RTI Act 2009 would be re-designated as FAA's & Central PIO (CPIOs). As per media reports the committee has submitted its report recently and have finally recommended applicability of Central RTI Act 2005 in J&K which means aggrieved RTI appellants will have to file appeals or complaints before Central Information Commission (CIC) New Delhi. It is now going to take them months and years for appeal or complaint disposal in CIC.

The sheltered acts

As already mention above under the  JK Reorganization Act 2019 around 166 laws of Jammu & Kashmir have been endangered. For more details readers need to go through table 4 part II of this act. Some of the protected laws include J&K Public Services Guarantee Act 2011 , J&K Public Men and Public Servants Declaration of Assets and Other Provisions Act, 1983, J&K Public Safety Act (PSA) 1978 , J&K Migrant Immovable Property (prevention, preservation and restrain on distress sales) Act 1997, JK Commission for Backward Classes Act 1997, JK Enemy Agents Ordinance , JK Land Grants Act 1972, JK Land Revenue (Amended) Act 1996 and many more. J&K RTI Act 2009 could also have been protected,  and thus our  RTI law became a causality of this misinformation campaign.

Propaganda movement

People from North to South and East to West of country were made to trust that people in J&K had no entree to RTI Act which is not at all true. . J&K state (now UT) had the best RTI law which was enacted on March 20^th 2009 (J&K RTI Act 2009) by Omar Abdullah lead National Conference Government. This law had some great provisions like time bound disposal of appeals by Information Commissioners and powers given to First Appellate Authority (FAA) to recommend an blundering officer (PIO) for penalty. These two provisions are not found in the Central RTI Act 2005. In-fact Mr Wajahat Habibullah the first Central Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) had recommended these changes in J&K RTI Act 2009. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), J&K RTI Movement were in constant touch with J&K's Chief Minister and other bureaucrats while the draft bill was being prepared. The draft bill was then made public as well for public comments. This was done in a very democratic manner with full public participation.

Land Acquisition law

On conflicting to this the Central law namely Right to Fair Compensation & Transparency under Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (RFCTLARR Act 2013) which intends to give some relief to people especially farmers whose land is acquired for mega developmental projects is not made applicable  ongoing projects especially the projects wherein no final award have been made or compensation is yet to be expended. The farmers whose land is to be acquired for Ring Road projects in Srinagar and Jammu are told that compensation would be paid to them under J&K Land Acquisition Act 1934 (now repealed) while as RFCTLARR Act 2013 is applicable in J&K from Oct 31^st 2019. This law enables fair compensation for acquired land 2 to 4 times more than the market value of land while as J&K's law had no such provision. Pertinently the RFCTLARR Act 2013 clearly says that if the process of land acquisition has been undertaken under old land acquisition law of 1894 but the final award hasn't been made and in that case new law (RFCTLARR 2013) will be applicable to them. In Ring Road case process of land acquisition started under JK Land Acquisition Act 1934 in 2016, final award is not made in 50 to 60 % of cases in Jammu and Srinagar, now farmers are told that whole process will be concluded under old and disused law. 

Conclusion

The preamble of the RTI Act 2005 says that the citizens shall have the right to secure access to the information under the control of the public authorities, to promote transparency of information which are vital in the functioning of the public authorities,  to hold Governments accountable. In case of J&K and Ladakh we cannot achieve these targets under RTI Act 2005. The reason is sudden drop in filing of RTI applications. Very less people would knock doors of Central Information Commission (CIC) New Delhi. This is nothing but disempowerment of people.