Transparency nowhere! District administration gives a fictitious RTI reply in an attempt to protect influential culprits; Officers lack RTI knowledge; Will the J&K UT government intervene?
SALIL RAINA
(POONCH TODAY NEWS)
POONCH: Time and again exposed by “POONCH TODAY” about the partial attitude of some of the officers in the district administration on many issues, the top chairs of the J&K UT administration failed to take action against those officers who preferred to behave in questionable terms while openly throwing the people’s aspirations on the ground in one way or another. The latest among many administrative inefficiencies is putting people in the dark through the fictitious RTI reply received from the ACR Poonch office to an RTI applicant.
As per the official letter of the Regional Director, J&K Pollution Control Committee, which is available with “POONCH TODAY,” there are a number of illegal stone crushers operating in the district, while some have failed to fulfill important formalities. But in an unabashed response of the administration in a RTI reply, the ACR Poonch said, “No illegal stone crusher is operating in the district as per available records.” On the one hand, an important office at the UT level clearly stated that a number of illegal stone crushers are running in the district, but the response of the ACR Poonch raises an eyebrow in the impious frame of mind of the top officers. An influential owner of a crusher and a political personality, during a meeting with a top mining officer, said, “We give a handsome amount to the administration per month so the officers never take action against us.” Such a statement from some illegal crusher owners is indicative of the fact that all are hand in glove. A former JKAS Deputy Commissioner was also expert in such gimmicks of earning money brazenly by taking full advantage of his revenue proficiency and giving illegal permissions to various projects, including crushers, under political directions from the top. He earned huge money through his influential political touts, and it seems that the same gimmicks are still in force. Shockingly, permissions were also given by the former DC to some crushers to operate from locations of historic and public importance in violation of various rules, but the J&K Pollution Control Committee declared those crushers illegal, and the ACR Poonch, in a dishonourable manner, also branded those crushers as legal ones. Moreover, one crusher belonging to the DDC Chairperson family is running on other Khasra nos and not on Khasra nos on which permission was given, and it shows that said crusher is also illegal and also failed to fulfill the conditions of the J&K pollution committee after the previous date of consent expired, but is still running smoothly because the said crusher has the backing of the DDC Chairperson. The same crusher is near the forest land and also a few meters away from the national highway. The said crusher has also captured a huge chunk of the Suran River openly. When the ACR Poonch was asked through a RTI whether the said crusher and hot mixer plant were legal and were established as per the revenue papers, the concerned officer lightly said ‘legal’ but mostly remained tight-lipped. Another crusher belonging to the DDC chairperson family is running in the Dingla area, being managed by a PWD engineer, which was given a green signal in violation of rules for a project only. The said crusher is also working openly by defying all the norms and has not been taken to task for an open violation of rules and regulations. So, it seems that the administration directly supports the illegal stone crushers and hot mixer plant belonging to the DDC Chairperson family. In another shocker, the ACR Poonch gave a fictitious response to a question regarding illegal construction in the “Red Zone,” illegal capturing of irrigation canals, and illegal capturing of PWD road embankments. The application was sent by the ACR to X.En I&FC, X.En PWD, Tehsildar Haveli, and E.O Municipal Council Poonch regarding the same subject, but rather than providing their replies, the ACR Poonch, tactfully and with an attitude of partiality to protect land encroachers and owners of illegal constructions in the river bed areas, said, “The administration is taking action on the illegal encroachment wherever found.” This one-line reply from ACR Poonch is a clear indication that the district administration, which might have a hidden agenda, is protecting influential culprits while taking action against the innocent. In another shocker related to the same question asked on the issue of “Red Zone,” Tehsildar Haveli, vide his letter No. TH/RTI/13-14 Dated 19-07-2024, in an unbelievable reply that is out of understanding, said, “In this information seeker has just raised a question about illegal construction, and under the RTI Act, 2005, the question has not been defined as information.” The officer seems to have no knowledge of the RTI Act, which clearly states that the RTI Act does not prohibit the use of prefixes such as why, what, and when. There is no limit to the number of questions asked in an RTI. Information means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advice, press releases, circulars, orders, log books, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, and data material held in any electronic form or any other form, but it is strange that officers of the Poonch administration lack knowledge of RTI and used to put people in the dark with their questionable mindset. People always ask questions on any subject in an RTI, but Tehsildar Haveli in an unexpected way, said, “Question has not been defined as information.” This is a clear indication that the main motto of the administration is to protect the influential culprits. A few months ago, a minority family tried to construct a tin shed in the “Red Zone” area, but the administration immediately swung into action and demolished the said tin shed by saying that nobody would be allowed to raise illegal constructions in the “Red Zone” area, but at the same time, powerful encroachers were protected openly. Some encroachers are still in the process of capturing more land near the newly constructed Jogger Park in the “Red Zone,” but the administration is still in deliberate slumber. Near Poonch Fort also, selected demolition drives were carried out under the name of ‘anti-encroachment drives’ and some more are in the pipeline, but the influential were not touched. It’s a clear indication that the concerned officers are working with a dubious frame of mind. Another example of this biased attitude of administration is exposed in the same RTI reply. In response to a question about whether any PRI or Ward Councillors were involved in breach of constitutional trust during the last four years by their involvement in office of profit directly or indirectly, the administration gave an example of a former ward councillor by saying that he was involved in breach of constitutional trust, and as a result, he was disqualified by Director Local Bodies after proper verification of the issue vide order no. 376-DULBJ of 2022 dated February 28, 2022. On the other hand, a sitting PRI holding an important position was also involved in breach of constitutional trust by earning heavily, was openly protected by a former DM and a former ACR, and now the current administration is also protecting the said PRI. Why? This is again a clear indication that the administration is working with a single frame of mind. In the DC office, too, some employees have been attached to various offices for years, thereby calling open shots in their respective wings. There are authentic reports that show how the offices of ACR and ADC used government funds indirectly on questionable practices within the DC office through their well-established touts in the administration. The open murder of transparency act by the ACR Poonch and other officers is really a big development that raises a big question mark on the credibility of the administration. It seems that some officers are working on the ideology of “Jiski lathi usi ki bhens” (might is right). Will the J&K UT government intervene or continue to allow the people of Poonch to suffer more due to various administrative inefficiencies?