The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Expansion of State Information Commission sought

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Expansion of State Information Commission sought

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: State Chief Information Commissioner Jannat Hussain has sought the appointment of more number of Commissioners to cope with workload following increase in appeals and complaints lodged under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Against 3,000 appeals and complaints received by AP State Information Commission in the first year of introduction of RTI in 2005, the figure is likely to touch 15,000 this year without any addition to staff strength, Mr. Hussain told a meeting of RTI activists organised by United Forum for RTI campaign – Andhra Pradesh.

Apart from Mr. Hussain, the commission presently has three Commissioners who will all retire by November 16.

Minnie Mathew, Special Chief Secretary, GAD, asked the commission to take steps to fill up the four posts of judicial officers recently sanctioned by the government along with supporting staff. She agreed to amend a government order which seeks to take preventive action against harassment of RTI activists by including a larger section of people who resort to intimidation. She was responding to a suggestion that the harassment might not be just by public servants but goons deployed by them.

False information

Several activists earlier claimed that the implementation of RTI in the State, particularly Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, was poor. Information Commissioner Sudhakara Rao denied the commission was pro-government, but agreed the panel did not have mechanism to verify false information furnished by PIOs.

Another Commissioner Dileep Reddy attributed the false information due to practices adopted by PIOs.

The commission could not take action in such cases.

An activist Umesh Varma said people had lost confidence in the RTI because a large number of appeals were either rejected on technical grounds or closed without hearing.

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Andhra Pradesh