J & K : RTI Chief Snubbed by CM's Office

CM Secretariat Snubs  RTI Chief

 “CM Secretariat  Mum over Sufi’s Suggestion”                       

                                                                                                                                               

Jammu, 29/Apr/2014:   Chief Minister’s Office  has snubbed Chief          Information Commissioner  GR Sufi by not responding  to his DO letter                                for over           more than four months GR Sufi, the Chief Information            Commissioner on 26/Dec/2013 has written a DO Letter  ( Demi official ) to         Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and surprisingly the Chief Minister’s office had      not                  only given  no response  to the letter but even did not  bother to       send any  acknowledgement note                which is normally  issued whenever they           receive any communication from a                      political dignitary or persons          occupying important position like a commissioner  of a statuary body or chairman of            a Board.

Though the Commission itself refused to share the  full contents of the                  letter written by Jammu and Kashmir State Chief Information Commisisoner GR Sufi to RTI applicant stating it as ‘personal information’ and only a portion of it was released by the Public Information Officer of the                                               Commission in response to an RTI application of the RTI activist Raman   Sharma and rest of the information was denied citing it as personal information having  no relationship to any public activity quoting section 8(i) of the JK RTI Act 2009. In the RTI reply commission has informed the applicant that the letter was sent through courier but no response or acknowledgement has been received by it from the CMO.

However , in his letter dated 26/Dec/2013, Chief Information Commissioner GR Sufi       has requested the Chief Minister to direct the Secretary,  General  Administration department to have an interaction with the State information           Commission to initiate the process of reviving Right to Information Rules             (2010) which were amended and replaced  in the year           2012 by issuing an SRO no 279.   

Through letter Sufi had expressed his displeasure over the amendments in the RTI Rules  and  have submitted   “ Unfortunately these rules were abruptly repealed on the main plank of brining the rules at par with central rules”.   “This                    reasoning was quite flawed as the present legislature has been vigouroulsy   ensuring that it exercised all powers which are vested in it under  constitution of the state read with Union Constituion, if the legislature enacts its own substantive law (JK RTI 2009) it is logical that rules also to be that of             creation of state executive keeping in view of the exigencies and special           conditions of our state” Sufi’s letter reveals.

While sharing the letter of GR Sufi with media, RTI applicant Raman Sharma also expressed his resentment over the attitude of the  Chief Minister’s office and commented that it should have responded to the letter of the a statuary and quasi judicial authority like Chief Information Commissioner who as per section 13 of Jammu and Kashmir RTI Act 2009 have the status and rank equivalent to that of an election commissioner .

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Published in Kashmir Times, The Northlines, JK Newspoint, Kashmir Life, Early Times, Kashmir Dispatch, Kashmir Monitor, Jammu Express, Journey Line, Daily Udaan-Urdu and other leading daily news papers.

http://www.thenorthlines.com/newsdet.aspx?q=79131

http://www.kashmirlife.net/5882029042014/

http://www.northerntimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=25395

http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=31716
http://earlytimesnews.com/newsdet.aspx?q=126702

Display List of Medicines Available In Hospitals: SIC

Display List of Medicines Available In Hospitals: SIC

Jammu 24/April/2014: In a significant judgment which would prove beneficial to people in   distress, the J&K State Information Commissioner has directed the state government to ensure display of list carrying name and availability of the drugs available in all the government health institutions across state.

 The Information Commissioner Dr. SK Sharma passed this order while disposing a complaint filed by noted RTI activist Deepak Sharma. In his 5 pages judgement the commission vide its order no . SIC-J-A-46-2014/108 directed the state government through Commissioner Secretary Health and Medical Education department to ensure display list of all medicines including life saving drugs available to the patients free of cost at prominent places in the hospitals and health centers for the benefits of the general public within a month time.

Earlier in his complainant to the commission the activist had sought a direction for the Hospital authorities to ensure compliance of section 4 of the J&K Right to Information Act 2009, which obligates a public authority to proactively display the information held by it.

 Sharing details of the case, Deepak stated that it is a common experience that though the Government claims that many medicines including life saving drugs are made available in hospitals and other health institutions and these drugs are meant for free distribution to patients, but usually the patients are not given the medicines available in the hospitals which is meant for free public distribution and are asked to purchase the medicines from the market . To find the fate of such medicines available in the hospitals , he filed an RTI application to Government Meical College and Hospital Jammu and raised queries which included to know the details of all medicines including life saving drugs and other surgical products available in the stores of hospitals and also asked the details of medicines available in the store that has crossed the expiry date. 

Being aggrieved by the reply of the PIO, the activist filed a complaint in the State Information Commission to issue order to the hospital authorities to display information regarding availability of medicines, proactively under section 4 of the J&K RTI Act 2009.    

Taking cognizance on the complaint, Dr. S.K. Sharma, J&K State Information Commissioner in its judgment directed Commissioner Secretary Health and Medical Education, Principal Government Medical College and Hospital and Director Health Services to ensure that the availability of all medicines is displayed at prominent places of all hospitals and health centers for the benefit of the general public with in one month of passing the order.

Published in JK Newspoint, Daily Excelsior, State Times, Kashmir Times, Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Life and other leading dailies of Jammu and Kashmir on 25th Apr/2014.

http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=31539

http://www.kashmirlife.net/display-names-availability-of-medicines-in-hospitals-sic-to-govt24042014/

http://jammu.greaterkashmir.com/news/2014/Apr/25/sic-asks-govt-to-display-list-of-drugs-available-in-hospitals-19.asp