Jammu Development Authority is entangled in Over 500 Court Cases, reveals RTI

 RTI Reveals JDA is entangled in 542 Court Cases

 Jammu, 15/Apr/2022: Established for  Preparation of Master Plan, Planned development of the Local Areas of Jammu and for providing housing accommodation to economically weaker sections and low income groups,  the JDA, Jammu Development Authority has entangled itself in legal battles as it has become party to over 500 court cases.

Jammu Development Authority, the government body responsible to ensure proper development of Jammu district and building law enforcing agency is presently facing 542 court cases including cases in  High Court and Supreme Court of India.

The information has been provided by Ajay Raina (KAS) Public Information Officer of the JDA under the Right to Information Act.

In reply to RTI application of Jammu resident Raman Sharma regarding the pending cases in different courts wherein   JDA   has been arrayed as appellant or respondent , the JDA vide its letter no JDA/AO/RTI/265/15 dated 04/Apr/2022 has stated  that there are 542 court cases wherein JDA has been arrayed as party in the cases.

In its reply, Ajay Raina, Accounts Officer and  Public Information Officer of Jammu Development Authority has informed that there are 136 Cases Pending in Subordinate Courts, 404 in Honourable Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and 02 cases pending in Supreme Court wherein Jammu Development Authority has been arrayed as party in these court cases.

RTI application seeking this information related to court cases was filed in the first week of February 2022 with the JDA and as per law, the information  should have been provided to the applicant within 30 days that is  in the month of March 2022, but in the present case the Public Information Officer has provided information to the applicant  after a long delay which is clear violation of the Right to Information Act 2005.

JDA Dumbs RTI Plea Seeking Info About Land Encroached by Mafias

 Jammu, 24/March/2022: Contrary to its claims of transparency and action against Land Mafias,  Jammu Development Authority, JDA  has failed to provide information about the total  land belonging to JDA is under occupation of Land Mafias and so far vacated and retrieved by it. 

Jammu resident Raman Sharma had filed an application dated 31/January/2022  under Right to Information Act with the JDA along with requisite fees as Indian Postal order  bearing number 57F 913108 , the information seeker in his plea had sought details about the total land owned by JDA,  land under occupation of Land Mafias and also the detail of land so far retrieved and vacated by JDA from Land Mafias during the past 6-7 years.

The  RTI application was sent by way of Speed Post under receipt having no. EE894488167IN dated 31/01/2022.

As per the postal department online tracking system, this RTI plea was delivered to Jammu Development Authority on 01/Feb/2022 and under section 7(1) of the Right to Information Act  2005, the Public Information Officer of the JDA was legally bound to provide this information or reject it within 30 days i.e.  on or before 02/March/2022 but as per the statement of the Information Seeker the JDA has not provided any information or intimation to the applicant about his RTI application so far and has preferred silence.

Citing section 7(2) of the RTI Act 2005, the applicant informed  that wherein the PIO fails to give decision on an RTI application within 30 days time limit, it is deemed refusal and this deemed rejection of information  by JDA is illegal and arbitrary and he would contest it before the appropriate authority.

The information seeker further  disclosed that the other queries in his RTI application include seeking the detail of total number of cases pending against the Jammu development authority in Subordinate Courts of district Jammu, before the Honourable High Court and Honourable Supreme Court of India.

Government Shelves Jammu_Poonch Railway Line Project, Railway Board terms It ‘Financially Unviable’

 

RTI Reveals

Government  Shelves Jammu_Poonch Railway Line Project, Railway Board terms It  ‘Financially  Unviable’

Jammu, 17/March/2022: Government of India has shelved the prestigious Jammu Poonch Railway Line project for which the final survey report was submitted in year 2018 with an estimated cost of rupees 22,771 crore for laying Broad Gauge (BG) rail line connecting Jammu with  border district Poonch via Rajouri.

The information in this regard has been shared by Ministry of Railways Government of India in response to two different Right to Information applications by a Jammu based information seeker Raman Sharma.

In  response to the RTI pleas of the applicant,  Railway Board vide its Letters dated 07-March-2022 and 15 March 2022,  signed by Pankaj Kumar, Director Projects and Central Public Information of Railway Board has stated that the Survey for new railway line between Jammu to Poonch having length of 223 K.M was completed in 2017-18 but the project could not be taken forward being ‘ financially unviable’. The signed reply by the CPIO  further states that the survey has been shelved with the approval of the Railway board.

While responding to another query of the applicant  regarding any other proposal as on date  pending with the ministry of Railways for providing and Laying Rail Line between Jammu to Poonch, the Railway Board officer replied in negative and stated that presently there is no proposal under consideration for this line.

It is pertinent to mention here that Connecting border districts of Rajouri and Poonch with Jammu has been a decades old pending demand of social and political organization of these border districts.

 

https://theprint.in/india/jammu-poonch-railway-line-project-shelved-for-being-financially-unviable/877813/

https://infra.economictimes.indiatimes.com/amp/news/railways/jammu-poonch-rly-line-project-shelved-for-being-financially-unviable/90302414

No Proposal from J & K Pending for Including any Community in ST Status: MoTA in RTI Reply

 

No Draft from J & K Pending for Including any Community in ST Status:  MoTA in RTI Reply 

Jammu, 31/Dec/2021: The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has stated that as on date no proposal is pending in the Ministry from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for including any Community in Schedule Tribe Status.

The written  information from the ministry has come in response to an RTI Application filed by a Jammu based RTI activist.

Earlier an application under Right to Information Act was submitted by RTI activist Raman Sharma with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, government of India through online application dated 25^th Dec 2021 seeking information regarding total number of applications of different communities belonging to Jammu and Kashmir pending with government  of India for their inclusion in Schedule Tribe Status.

The ministry of Tribal Affairs vide online RTI registration no MOTLA/R/E/21/00671 dated 28/12/2021 provided the information to the information seeker Sharma and stated that  “As on date  No proposal is pending in the Ministry from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir ”

JKIMPA Organizes RTI Training Session

 

Jammu, 15/July/2021: Jammu and Kashmir Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural development(JKIMPA & RD)  campus in Jammu today organized an interactive session on Right to Information Act for Senior Assistants . Over eighty officials of the J & K  UT government from different departments belonging to Jammu division attended the program.

The RTI training program is one of the various initiatives taken up by the IMPA as per the instructions of Saurabh Bhagat, Director General, JKIMPA to provide training to the officers & officials of the J & K   government for their overall  capacity building and to familiarize them with different laws to bring more synergy and professionalism in the governance system.

The training session on RTI Act is held under the supervision and guidance  of Prof. Reva Sharma, Director Training(Jammu). During the event, Manju Kapoor, Course Coordinator welcomed the participants and also threw light on preamble and  basic principle of the Right to Information Act that is to bring transparency and accountability in the governance system, she also asked the participating officials to utilize the expertise of the visiting faculty and go through the course material provided to them which is again prepared by the subject experts. Raman Shama, RTI Practitioner also held interactive session with the trainee officials  and explained different sections and provisions of the Transparency law. During the session, Course Coordinator and guest faulty also replied various queries of the trainees related to the RTI Law.

J & K Bank Rejects RTI Plea

 

J & K Bank Refuses To Share Information about total Employees Appointed during Last 5 years

 

Jammu, 13/July/2021: Jammu and Kashmir Bank in response to an RTI application has refused to share information regarding  total strength of its employees as on date, the bank has also  denied information about the total number of employees appointed by it  bank during the last 5 years.  

 

Citing exemption under Right to Information Act, The Public Information office of the J & K Bank rejected the RTI pleas vide letter no. 1097 dated 06/July/2021 and  stated “desired information cannot be provided as the same is exempted under section 8(1) (J) of the RTI Act 2005 ”  .

 

The rejection order of the bank has come after one page RTI application by RTI activist Raman Sharma dated 19/June/2021, wherein the applicant had sought  8 points information including total number of permanent and contractual employees working in  the bank as on date, total number of appointments both permanent and on contractual basis made by the bank  during the last 5 years i.e. from 01/Jan/2016 to till date.

The other query of applicant Raman was about total number of permanent and contractual appointments of employees made by the bank with and without issuing advertisements and public notices.

Expressing displeasure over rejection of his RTI application, the applicant informed that he would adopt due legal procedure of appeal  as available under RTI Act 2005 against the rejection order of the Public Information officer of the J & K Bank Limited. He also said all the sought information was quite genuine and in larger public interest and added that instead of rejecting this kind of information the bank was under obligation to proactively disclose maximum  part of this information under section 4 of the RTI Act.

COPY OF RTICOPY OF RTI  REJECTION LETTER  BY JK BANK

 

Contemptuous Approach of DC Office Jammu towards Transparency

 

PIO not only Violates RTI Act, but also Ignores  Order of his Senior

Jammu, 13/Jan/2021: Showing utter disregard for the transparency,  the Right to Information Act, the Public Information Officer there in the office of Deputy Commissioner not only violated the provisions of the Right to Information Act 2005 but he also defied the order issued by his own senior.

Contrary to the tall claims of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory government about good governance & ensuing transparency in the public administration, the bureaucracy here is hell bent to strangulate the rights of the citizens & defy the law with impunity. 

Sharing the details about his case, RTI Activist Raman Sharma has informed  that the Public Information Officer there in the   office of Deputy Commissioner not only rejected his Right to Information Application dated 27/Aug/2020  that reached the his office on 09/September/2020 but also later refused to even honour the directions issued by his senior officer, the 1^st Appellate Authority of the DC Office Jammu.

Sharma informed that after having failed to receive information on his RTI Application within stipulated period of time i.e.  30 days from the said Public Information Officer there in the office of DC Jammu, he had filed a first appeal under section 19 of the RTI Act before the Additional District Development Commissioner on 30^th  October of 2020 that reached there before the 1^st Appellate Authority on  04/Nov/2020 who issued different notices of appearances  to the Public Information Officer but none was responded. Finally on 14/Dec/2020 Ramesh Chander , KAS (ADDC)  passed a final order & directed the Public Information Officer, Additional Deputy Commissioner(LO) to provide information to the appellant Raman Sharma within 15 Days but shockingly even this order of the Appellate Authority failed to make the reluctant PIO to respond to the RTI application of the information seeker & even as on date the RTI application remain unattended & no information is provided.  

The activist is now contemplating to file 2^nd appeal before the Central Information Commission against the erring PIO.

APPEAL BELOW 

ORDER OF 1ST APPELLATE AUTHORITY 

DISTRICT HOSPITAL UDHAMPUR MEDICINES AND EQUIPMENTS IN STORES

LIST OF MEDICINES AVAILABLE IN DISTRICT HOSPITAL UDHAMPUR 

LIST OF EQUIPMENTS IN STORE OF DISTRICT HOSPITAL UDHAMPUR 

LIST OF EXPIRY MEDICINES