Wednesday, August 15, 2012

IPOs safe, legitimate mode of RTI fees: Activists

Kashmir Times, 12/Aug/2012
JAMMU, Aug 11: Clearing the air over the confusion that Indian Postal Orders, IPOs
are not safe mode of payment as fees under Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information
 Act 2009, the RTI activists and legal experts have made it clear that like Demand
Drafts and Banker's Cheque the RTI fees paid through Indian Postal orders is absolutely
legitimate, safe and must be accepted as the J & K RTI Act, Rules are very much clear in
 this regard.  Citing rule 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir RTI Rules 2010, RTI Activist and
advocate Vilakshan Singh informed that the government rules gives option to the RTI
 applicant to choose his mode of payment and that right must be honoured. He also
commented on the notion that the RTI fees paid through IPO goes to union government's
kitty is wrong.  Whereas Balwinder Singh, RTI activist and Convener Sangarsh RTI Movement
said that the Public Authority should realize the fees received under J & K RTI Act 2009
if it is paid through Cheque, Demand Draft or IPO and the perception that the IPO fees
 goes union government is far  away from truth. Aseem Sawhney, another noted RTI activist,
also objected to the demand  of scrapping the option of Indian Postal order. He said the
IPO's are the easiest and safest safe mode of payment for RTI users. Activist/Advocate
Dewaker Sharma too shared the same opinion and said there is no need to scrap IPO as
mode of fees because in far  flung areas, the IPO's are most feasible mode of payment
because of the availability of Post Offices in every nook and corner of the state.
 RTI Activist Raman Sharma and  Deepak Sharma also stressed for continuation 
of IPO as RTI fees option. 

http://www.kashmirtimes.com/newsdet.aspx?q=3191

also published in JKNEWSPOINT, The Tribune and other papers on same date.

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