J&K considering repeal some provisions of RTI, Rules 2012
22 Dec, 2012The Chief Information Commissioner GR Sufi of the Jammu and Kashmir Information Commission had written a letter to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the weakening of the State Information Commission by amendment of the old rules. Mr. Gufi has restricted his letter to the deletion of the Rules pertaining to the internal functioning of the Commission only and not other issues. The letter reportedly mentions that the new Rules framed by the State Government were not in consonance with the Central RTI Rules. The rank of officer who should be appointed as Secretary to the Commission has not been notified under the newly framed state Rules.
Now the General Administration Department has formally conveyed to the Information Commission that the issue of inclusion of Rules governing appointment of Secretary and Registrar is under consideration of the State Government. Vide SRO no. 279 dated 30th August, 2012, the State Government had replaced the RTI Rules, 2010 with the new RTI, Rules 2012. Many RTI activists had criticised the move terming them as regressive.
The former Chief Information Commissioner of the Central Information Commission and the current chairperson of National Commission for Minorities, Mr. Wajahat Habibullah, had also written to CM asking him to reconsider the decision.