Muhsin malik
The Jammu and Kashmir RTI is a magnificent tool for promoting transparency, Accountability and has also removed corruption to some extent. As people in Jammu and Kashmir are worst suffers of corruption. Corruption has been determined as the greatest challenge in the progress of Jammu and Kashmir. The practice of corruption has become well rooted in the society and is anticipated to be a part of any activity. For illegal benefit people paid a bribe or additional fee in the past. But now the RTI ACT has given a opportunity to root out corruption and the culture of secrecy from the government affairs, and pave the way for governance reform, greater accountability and transparency in government affairs. Across the country, a growing number of people are using the RTI applications as weapon to fight corruption and demand their rights. A number of government commissions have noted corruption as being systematic in Jammu and Kashmir because of concentration of power among bureaucrats and politicians. The culture of privacy in governance, which began during the British rule and continues. The Jammu and Kashmir has kept alive corruption where large amount of public money is diverted or redirected by the authorities. But with the Right to Information ACT people say no to bribes. The RTI has been used to bring about policy changes as well as to feed hungry mouths. Some trace the growth of corruption in Jammu and Kashmir to its militancy roots. Corruption is one of the burning issues and has become a matter of serious discussion across the globe. People in Jammu and Kashmir are among the worst sufferers of corruption. According to centre for media studies (CMS) in its annual corruption study 2017 –has placed Jammu and Kashmir along with Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh as most corrupt among 20 surveyed states. The study reveals that Karnataka (77%) followed by Andhra Pradesh (74%), Tamil Nadu (68%), MAHARASTRA (57%) and Jammu and Kashmir (44%) emerged as more corrupt states. The figure of Jammu and Kashmir in 2005 was 69%.The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been a great victim of corruption due to conflict and instability. The funds meant for development get mismanaged, misappropriated and looted right from village panchayat to CM’s secretariat. The special packages worth millions of rupees are announced by the central government to the Jammu and Kashmir state.
The local perception prevails that the benefits of these special packages are hardly visible. Jammu and Kashmir is also provided with a special treatment than the other states of country. Enormous changes have taken place in the field of public administration with the growing transparency and accountability and people’s participation in policy making and its implementation. The decentralization of power has brought new approaches to public administration from traditional approach to modern one. Privacy no longer now can exist, every human being have right to know about administration, what govt thinks and how it performs the responsibility. In the age of liberalization and globalization the concept of invisible government no longer can be seen. The citizens and civil society must get information from the public authorities relating to their administration, operations or decisions In Jammu and Kashmir no individual had to access to information held by a public authority up to 2004.information is very essential to participate in the life and governance of society. We can say govt and information are closely related to each other. More the access to information the greater would be responsiveness of the govt.The greater restrictions placed on access to information leads to powerlessness and alienation. A resident of Jammu and Kashmir has a right to access information with the enactment of Jammu and Kashmir RTI act 2009. With the enactment of this act the govt. Has become more open to public media and other sources are playing an eminent role about awareness of RTI act, mostly in case of rural and far-flung hilly areas the RTI Act 2009 was passed by the state legislature to bring an end to culture of secrecy and change the mindset of highest officials. Significant changes have occurred in case of poor people with sharing of information related to new farming techniques, education, and healthcare and afforest ration .The RTI act has changed the power equation between the governments and governed. It has become a potent tool to fight against corruption and demands their rights. With the RTI Act people say no to bribes. Transparency has become the norm of day. Transparency enables stronger, more peaceful international relations by allowing for more accurate verification of nations compliance with international agreements and standards, national markets gain greater access to the foreign investment through credible government oversight and more efficient regulation of market authority with more transparency the maturity of society can be measured The Right to Information Act promoted democratic ideology by promoting openness and transparency in administration. Thus it can be said that RTI is powerful tool that can give significant social benefits. IT can support to democracy and can promote good governance by empowering citizen’s ability to participate effectively. At last RTI is the “oxygen of democracy “gives meaning to participatory democracy
(The author views are his own, [email protected])