Rajouri Shrine J K Waqf Board Denies Rti Info On Donations Offerings

The J&K Waqf Board has declined to provide information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act regarding donations and offerings received during the financial year between 2020-21 to 2026 at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah Shahdara Sharif shrine at Rajouri citing staff shortage.

The reply has been furnished by the Waqf board in an RTI application by a Jammu-based RTI activist Raman Kumar Sharma, who sought financial year-wise details of cash offerings and donations received at the shrine from 2020-21 onwards.

He also sought the assessed value and quantity of gold, silver, jewellery, precious metals, precious stones and other valuables received as offerings in the holy shrines during the same period.

The activist sought a certified copy of the standard operating procedure (SoP), policy or guidelines governing the opening and accounting of donation boxes installed at the shrine and other places.

In its reply, the Waqf Board stated that it did not have sufficient staff to prepare the required information as it was voluminous and the applicant was asked to attend the Waqf office on any working day, after prior intimation, for perusal of the records.

The RTI activist has objected to the manner in which the application has been dealt with, saying that the information sought pertained to financial records maintained by the Waqf Board.

“If the records are available, staff shortage should not become an excuse for providing access to information under the RTI Act,” he said.