All appeals, complaints pending under RTI in JK to be dealt by CIC: Govt

New Delhi: All second appeals and complaints pending with the Jammu and Kashmir State Information Commission under the erstwhile state's Right to Information (RTI) Act will be dealt with by the Central Information Commission (CIC), according to official documents.

The move comes as Jammu and Kashmir state was divided into two union territories, and Ladakh with effect from October 31, 2019. A large number of applications and appeals filed under the Jammu and Kashmir RTI Act, 2009, would have been pending on the date of bifurcation.

Since the two new UTs were formed, citizens and transparency activists have been approaching RTI advocates and officials concerned seeking clarity on disposal of their applications, and first appeals pending before various public authorities and the second appeals and complaints pending before the State Information Commission. Under the Central RTI Act, UTs do not have power to establish and constitute Information Commissions, activists say. Official documents accessed through the RTI Act by transparency activist Venkatesh Nayak reveal that the Union Ministry of Personnel had on October 15, 2019, written to the CIC mentioning the steps needed for transition from the J-K RTI Act 2009 to the Centre's RTI Act, 2005.