Upset with the increasing RTI activism in Jammu & Kashmir state the mainstream politicians irrespective of their party affiliations are alleging what they call “misuse of RTI but the fact remains the journalist denied access to records pertaining to massive financial irregularities in key government departments take the RTI route to get access to records pertaining to financial embezzlements in government departments. Since the RTI is mostly used for the purposes of exposing the misuse of public money by top public functionaries running the affairs of some key government departments in the state, henceforth the mainstream politicians are obliged to restrain themselves from publicly questioning the use of RTI in the larger public interests. While the fact remains that the misuse of RTI Act is alleged by only power wielding politicians, the authorities are mostly denying access to information about the allegations on misuse of power, authority and public expenditure in government departments, public sector corporations and autonomous institutions . Though the Right to Information Act itself provides effective remedies to deal with petitions of vital public importance without wasting much time, but the authorities are mostly denying information sought on important matters of public interests by the journalists and the RTI activists .RTI experts believe that RTI act is designed to make the government responsive on all levels.
Though the Right to Information Act itself provides effective remedies to deal with petitions of vital public importance without wasting much time, but the authorities are mostly denying information sought on important matters of public interests by the journalists and the RTI activists .
It is only RTI activism which has brought some improvement in the public accountability system particularly in states like Jammu & Kashmir which is rated one among the most corrupt states of the country. As far as the allegations of misuse of RTI act by mainstream politicians are concerned, the law makers representing people in assemblies and parliament are fully empowered to amend the RTI act in the larger interests of the public accountability. The amendments in the RTI act are necessitated by the reports that people file RTI petitions even in the name of casual labourers seeking regularization as daily wagers in most of the government departments. Such practices are to be disallowed necessarily and neither the RTI activists nor the journalists are opposed to such amendments required for stopping the misuse of RTI act by general public. Any other dilution of the RTI Act is neither proper nor acceptable to the majority of the people. So for many ministers and top bureaucrats have been exposed through RTI Act for misuse of their power, authority and public expenditure and as such amendments sought by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats for the purposes of their own convenience is neither acceptable to RTI activists and Journalists nor to the general public for the purposes of public accountability.
