RTI applicant redirected after 30 days of filing form

Hyderabad: The opaque manner in which officials are functioning appears to kill the very spirit of empowering people. Here is an instance where an official took nearly a month to reply to an RTI applicant. The reply reflects the prevailing “babu culture” in government administration.

Instead of providing the information, the officer concerned directed the applicant to seek it from another source. What beats all is why the officer took 30 days to “provide this information”. M Srinivas, a CPI (M) worker, sought information on the extent of assigned lands in Telangana State.

In the letter submitted under the Right to Information Act (RTI) on January 12, 2015 to the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA), Srinivas sought details of district-wise information on agriculture activity on assigned lands and how much of the assigned lands was encroached upon.

Taking its own sweet time, the office of CCLA in its reply informed the applicant to approach the district collectors. The communication was received by Srinivas on February 11, 2015. It is mandatory that information officers of departments concerned should gather information and provide it to applicants.

The applicants cannot be asked to seek information elsewhere. The RTI Act says that government should be proactive in sharing information so that citizens will have the least necessity to invoke RTI. Looks like officials are living in a culture of secrecy to make the administration opaque. Where is the transparency?