Govt yet to act right on Info Act

Mrityunjay Ram / TNN / Nov 13, 2005, 01:32 IST

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Most of the departments, school education, higher education and civil supplies have not even maintained their records.

HYDERABAD: Nearly a month after the Right to Information Act (RIA) came into force, several departments of the state government have not received a single query. That's not the end of the story.
Most of the departments--endowments, school education, higher education and civil supplies--have not even maintained their records. The RIA specifies that all departments should maintain the records duly catalogued in a manner which facilitates easy implementation of the Act.
It also makes it mandatory for all departments to publish or display information within 125 days of the Act's enactment. This means, all the departments should have done so by this time as the Act was enacted on June 15, 2005.
As per the Act, information in any form--records, documents, memos, e-mails, press releases, circulars, orders--and relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority can be obtained by the citizens.

A person, who desires to obtain any information under the Act should make a request in writing or through electronic means in English, Hindi or in the official language. In fact, the applicant is not required to mention any reason for that.
However, most of the departments have neither updated the information nor have they received any application from the public. According to officials, no information has been sought primarily due to lack of awareness on the Act.
"The government has failed to create awareness among citizens as well as departments and officials. Hence, the Act has failed to create any impact in the state," a senior official said.
When contacted, information and public relations minister Mohammad Shabbir Ali said the government would take pro-active measures to provide information as per the Act. "All departments have been working in this direction," he claimed.

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