Applicants wait in despair to get information under RTI

G SRINIVASA RAO Hyderabad: The state of affairs in Andhra Pradesh in the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, is going against the very spirit of the Act. The act which is a weapon in the hands of common man, to get information from the government departments is not followed by many departments. The main objective of providing information to the applicant within 30 days is not being taken seriously. The posts of Information Commissioners is lying unfilled for the last seventeen months, giving scope to give excuses for not providing the information within the stipulated time period. Apart from this, the indifference by the lone Chief Information Commissioner, Jannat Hussain is making matters worse. In all the government departments, starting from Governors office to Panchayat level, the situation is the same. An applicant filed an application under RTI act, sent three queries to the Governors office, on 25 November, last year. After the lapse of the mandatory 30 days, the applicant again appealed on 6 January, which also went unheeded. There was no response from the Governors office in spite of phone calls by the applicant. Till date, the applicant is waiting for a reply from the office of the first citizen of the state. The situation is no different with another august office, the Speaker of the State Assembly. An application was filed, requesting to furnish the details of the official and unofficial trips to Delhi made by Kiran Kumar Reddy during his term as the Speaker. The application was sent to the Public Information Officer of the State Assembly by speed post on 6 September last year. Though eight months has lapsed the applicant is still waiting to get a reply under RTI. The applications made to the Commissioner, Social Welfare department to know the budgetary allocations for the welfare of beggars in the state and the number of rehabilitated beggars, made under RTI on 12 January this year, are still to be answered. Another application made on 22 March to the same department, to know the standards and guidelines followed while diverting crores of rupees allocated under SC & ST Sub plan, is still pending. Though forty days have lapsed after the appeal was made in April, the matter lies where it was. The situation is worse in Wakf board. One application made in the last May, asking for the details of the officials and employees is still lying before the Wakf Board unanswered. The only response the applicant is sent was, they are in the process of preparing the list. In the districts also, the fate of the applications under RTI, is no different. Based on the news appeared in media, regarding the distribution of expired medicine in a free medical camp organised by a voluntary organisation, a RTI activist applied to the district medical officer to furnish the details. This application was made on 24 January and the follow up appeals in March first week. The activist, vexed up with the delay complained to the State Information Commissioner.