Editorial
|
|
|
| | Protests by RTI activists | | Spirit of right to information yet to percolate down to grassroot levels | | | It appears that the officers in Jammu and Kashmir government are yet to reconcile to the fact that they are supposed to provide information to the citizens under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Dilly dallying tactics adopted by the officers in various government departments for providing information to the people in a democratic setup have forced the RTI activists to hold protest demonstrations against the government. The RTI activists like other parts of the country have been feeling the threat from the corrupt officers against whom information is sought. This is the main reason why people at large are not coming forward for seeking information about development programmes or money utilized on various schemes. A general awareness about the RTI Act and its provision is lacking among the people. The government as well as the activists need to create awareness among the people so that they come forward and act vigilant ears and eyes of the government. This is the only method for ensuring transparency in the working of the government and money spent on the development and social sector programmes. In the recent past, even the RTI activists felt intimidated while sharing information with the media persons about the corruption cases provided by the government. Apart from this the information sought on land deals in the state is withheld by the concerned agencies for the fear of land mafia which is involved in a big way grabbing and selling government lands. The RTI activists are also threatened on one pretext or the other by the members of the land mafia fearing their exposure through this process. The government and Information Commission need to look into such cases where information is withheld beyond the stipulated period. |
|
|
|
|
Comment on this Story |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|