SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory recorded a sharp decline in the number of applications filed with different departments under the Right to Information Act-2005 in 2021-22, according to a report by a transparency panel released on Tuesday.
An analysis of the Central Information Commission (CIC) annual report for 2021-22 by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) found that the Jammu and Kashmir administration reported a 31.44% decline in RTI applications received in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21. “Among the UTs, Jammu and Kashmir reported a 31.44% decline in the number of RTI receipts in 2021-22 (1,099) as compared to the 2020-21 figure (1,603),” the CHRI said in its findings.
The CHRI findings further reveal that although Jammu & Kashmir reported only 94 RTI applications carried over from 2020-21, it was still a 683.33% increase over the 2019-20 figures (12 RTI applications).
The CHRI also noted that J&K reported a sharp decline in the proportion of RTIs transferred by PIOs in 2021-22 as compared to 2020-21. In 2021-22, 4.73% of RTI applications were transferred in J&K, while it was 38.74% in 2020-21, according to the CHRI.
It is pertinent to mention that the Central Right to Information Act-2005 became applicable in Jammu & Kashmir UT after the Centre effected constitutional changes in 2019. Before these changes, Jammu & Kashmir had its own RTI law. (KNO)
