In a first step towards the implementation of the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act-2009, Jammu and Kashmir Bank designated Public Information Officers and Appellate Authority to provide information to the information seekers.
The development has come days after the bank decided toimplement the Act.
The bank has designated 812 officers as Assistant PublicInformation Officers (APIOs), who will receive and forward RTIapplications/Appeals to the designated Public Information Officers (PIOs) andthe Appellate Authorities.
The APIOs would not be authorised to provide information toRTI applicants or appellants.
Also, the bank has designated 11 officers as PublicInformation Officers who will be responsible for providing information toapplicants.
Eleven other officers have been designated as AppellateAuthorities under the Act. Any applicant who has not been supplied therequisite information or is not satisfied with the information furnished couldfile an appeal before the designated Appellate Authority.
The Governor administration last year decided to bringJ&K Bank under the ambit of the RTI Act, like other PSUs. It said the bankshould follow Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines and the statelegislature.
The bank, however, refused to implement the Act.
In 2012, the State Information Commission had declared thebank as a ‘public authority’ under the RTI Act, entitling the people to seekinformation from it. The bank, however, got it stayed by the court. The stay isyet to be vacated.
But this year, after the government sacked the chairman ofthe J&K Bank and appointed an interim chairman, the board of directors ofthe bank decided to implement the J&K RTI Act-2009.
The bank has provided detailed information on its websiteabout the designated officers who have been tasked with providing informationto the applicants.