Corruption: Naga officials exploiting State’s lack of check

EMN
Dimapur, June 30

The lack of transparency and absence of mechanisms that ensure accountability is encouraging government officials in Nagaland to indulge in corrupt practices, a local voluntary organization has said. This sad vacuum on the part of policymakers and government apparatuses is impacting development, and subsequently the common man, the Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organization (NVCO) said on Monday, June 30.
Students of Kohima Law College and members of the NVCO met with the district authorities of Peren district on June 26. The visitors said that they had “a very fruitful interactive session” with the deputy commissioner of Peren about various issues concerning the Impact of the right to Information Act (RTI) in Nagaland since the inception of the legislation. The Right to Information Act, 2005 came into force on October 12. It is an Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information to citizens for them to secure access to information under the control of public authorities. The Act aims at promoting transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority.
The Nagaland State Information Commission was constituted on March 14, 2006, and the state is stepping into its 10th year of implementation of the Act. The NVCO said it was “doing on a rapid study of the use of RTI” in Nagaland.
During their visit to Peren, the NVCO observed that: ‘…lack of transparency and accountability encourage the government officials to indulge in corrupt practices, which result in lower investments due to misuse or diversion of funds for private purposes and backdoor appointments’.
Deputy Commissioner of Peren, Peter Lichamo, is quoted to have shared “his opinion and the position of RTI in the district”. The deputy commissioner said that the citizens, be an individual or nongovernmental organizations “are very active in submitting RTI application in Peren district”.
“Every department is getting a very good number of RTI applications. He said RTI is a very good law considering it as an effective tool to fight against corruption and compelled the public authorities to follow procedures and maintained records,” the NVCO stated in a press release issued to the media on Monday.
“I’m new to this office and not aware of many things which had happened in the past but it is RTI that I came to learn many past records as the PIO prepared and furnished those demanded documents to the applicants. Recently a website was also launched where citizens can file RTI application online and here the office staff are complaining for the system where they may require to spent more time in attending RTI applications,” the NVCO quoted Lichamo as having said.
A note of caution that the administration gave was that citizens should not use the RTI “with the mind of harassing the public authorities”.
“Every applicant must assess herself/himself to do with certain information so as to serve a specific purpose if not don’t apply for RTI. RTI is done and ends there the moment a demanded information is received by the applicant,” the NVCO said.
“The applicant is to make best use of the document/information to substantiate/support his/her case. DC said time to time the RTI applicants sought for appointment but I normally reply it is not necessary as the Act clearly provides if you are not satisfied then you file an appeal to the Appellate Authority i.e., myself and I’m ready to serve as per the Act,” the press release stated.
The NVCO claimed that deputy commissioner requested the team “to create more awareness on RTI so as to make good use of it and not to misuse it”. Filing RTI applications ‘for the sake of filing’ will not serve any purpose but it has to be filed with a specific purpose to serve a purpose by way of “using information as a tool to fight against injustices meted out to certain group of people, corrupt practices, malpractices, backdoor appointments, diversion of funds, etc”, the NVCO stated.
The consumers’ organization also submitted a representation to the deputy commissioner of Peren “mainly to maintain reasonable prices in goods and services”.
The representation had a copy of the high court’s judgment along with a compilation of newspaper clippings about corruption, good governance, and infrastructural development; RTI, extortion, illegal taxes, among others, the NVCO’s statement suggested.
The popular people’s movement, the Action against Corruption and Unabated Taxation of Nagaland could expose backdoor appointments made in the department of Rural Development by using the Right to Information Act.
“Let us not misuse the RTI Act rather citizens are to make best use out of it as we still require to apply more in several departments to get the alleged huge backdoor appointments such as Home department, etc. Today some ministers don’t care about RTI as they don’t hesitate to give so much of their pressure to do huge backdoor appointments and diversion of funds in infrastructural developmental project,” the consumers’ organization stated.
“Hence, it is very important to assess the impact of RTI in Nagaland since inception,” the group added. The NVCO has requested citizens to “honestly shares their opinion” on the impact of the Right to Information Act in Nagaland “both positive and negative impact”. Citizens are asked to email their opinions to the email kezhokhotosavi@yahoo.com .