The
Hindu: Chittoor: Tuesday, 21 July 2015.
State
Information Commissioner S. Imtiaz Ahmed on Monday said that the Tirumala
Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) comes under the purview of RTI Act, as it is
completely under the control of the State government.
Speaking to
the media here, Mr Imtiaz Ahmed said that as the government appoints the trust
board members, its chairman and several important officials on deputation and
the TTD can not escape from the RTI purview. He said that the High Court should
take the lead in clearing the confusion whether the TTD is exempted from the
RTI purview by vacating the stay order on the issue.
He deplored
that over 60 per cent of the PIOs were not aware of the provisions of the RTI
Act. However, he expressed hope that the Act has come to generate awareness
among people and soon it would result in bringing more transparency in
government sectors.
“In recent
years, it is a welcome sign that the first appellate authoritiesare coming
forward to attend before the commission as against the earlier practice of
sending the lower level officials.”he said.