Tuesday, July 21, 2015

“TTD comes under RTI Act’s purview”

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.