No Place To File RTI In J&K, Ladakh After Becoming Uts

A fortnight after Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were declared union territories, there is no place for residents to exercise their Right to Information (RTI). Even as the Jammu and Kashmir State Information Commission has become non-functional, there is no clarity on the RTI machinery in the state or the fate of the pending RTI cases. As Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act became operational on October 31, the central RTI Act became applicable in J&K and Ladakh. However, there is no clarity on how 364 cases –– 233-second appeals and 131 complaints –– filed under the state’s law would be handled. Like RTI cases in all union territories, the Central Information Commission (CIC) would hear cases from J&K and Ladakh. However, no administrative order has been issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT), the nodal ministry, to this effect. Till the order is issued, the cases would not be transferred.