14 June, Jammu: In response to pressure from the CIC, the government of J&K has mandated that all CPIOs within the state’s different ministries, field offices, Corporations, Boards, and PSUs produce quarterly reports by June 30, 2023.
Under Section 25 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, they are required to register and submit quarterly reports on the official site https://cic.gov.in/.
Public authorities in the Union Territory (UT) have been instructed to submit annual reports (consisting of four quarterly returns) to the Central Information Commission (CIC) so that the Commission may evaluate their performance throughout the year and complete their Annual Report on the RTI Act’s implementation.
The government has issued directives for rigorous compliance and cautioned that any “lapses,” if any, would be the CPIOs’ own fault.
The government has issued a strict directive after being informed by the Central Information Commission (CIC) that public bodies in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir “are not submitting annual returns under Section 25 of the RTI Act.” “The matter has been viewed with serious concern by the authorities,” General Administration Department Commissioner Secretary Sanjeev Verma said in a circular.
In accordance with Section 25 of the RTI Act, the CIC is responsible for compiling an annual report on the status of RTI Act implementation and providing suggestions to public authorities on how they might better adhere to the letter and spirit of the law.
Each government agency must submit quarterly reports throughout the year so that their performance may be evaluated and the Annual Report can be completed. If a government agency fails to file quarterly returns, it will be considered delinquent.
Verma said that “information is the currency of democracy,” and that the Right to Information Act of 2005 would do more than only empower citizens and combat corruption; it would also provide a strong structure for monitoring all public bodies by the Central Information Commission.
To prepare the report under this section, each ministry or department is obligated to collect and provide such information to the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be, and to comply with the requirements concerning the furnishing of that information and the keeping of records for the purpose, as set forth in Section 25 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
