The State government’s decision to not upload any Government Orders (G.O.s) in the public domain came in for sharp condemnation from civil activists, who said the move was against the tenets of democracy and transparency.
Stating that the government’s decision went against the fundamental rights of citizens and was in contravention to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the activists said they have planned to approach the court in this regard. RTI activists are learnt to be planning to impress upon the State government the need to be transparent and accountable to the people.
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Access to Information programme head Venkatesh Nayak said that the decision was against Section 4 of the RTI Act. “The Act lucidly says that the governments across the country have to upload all the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and G.O.s which they make use of while discharging the duties. There was no reason to flout this requirement by the executive or a popularly elected government. The fundamental rights override the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Office Manual and A.P. Government Businesses Rules. The circular issued by the government doesn't hold water,” Mr. Venkatesh said.
Echoing similar views, All India Lawyers’ Union president Sunkara Rajendra Prasad said that the government was watering down the RTI Act, which was promulgated with the view that there should not be any secrecy in the functioning of the government. “The RTI came into existence to help people know about the administration of the government. There should be transparency in governance. This decision would lead to corruption,” he opined.
Andhra Pradesh United RTI Activists (AURA) founder president Thota Vinod said that they would meet Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan seeking his intervention and take necessary measures so that there was transparency in governance. A representation would be given to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) also, he said.
Indian Data Analysers and Publishers (IDAP) president and RTI activist Inganti Ravi Kumar said the State government’s decisions were retrograde in nature. “Even the Union government was also posting all orders and instructions on its websites. All the information was being updated at regular intervals. Why is the State government shying away?” he asked.
