The
Hans India: Hyderabad: Sunday, 22 November 2015.
The Andhra
Pradesh government, which boasts of transparency in governance, has created a
record of sorts by issuing over 800 confidential GOs in 18 months which
accounts for over 20 percent of the total GOs issued.
Most of the
confidential GOs are related to the departments held by Chief Minister N
Chandrababu Naidu and pertain to issues like land allocation, investments,
industries and energy, general administration and tourism. The other
departments which had also issued confidential GOs include information
technology. About 552 confidential GOs pertain to departments held by the Chief
Ministers followed by Revenue 104, Home 86, Finance -28,
Agriculture and Cooperation 24 and 23 by Panchayat Raj department.
When asked by
The Hans India as to what could be so confidential in a GO which is supposed to
be public document, a senior official in the GAD and the wing looking after the
protocol of the Chief Minister on the condition of anonymity said that most of
these GOs relate to the expenses incurred on the Chief Minister’s tours and
other issues related to the Chief Minister’s Office and administration.
According to
another official, undoubtedly a large number of confidential GOs were issued in
the residuary state because of certain special reasons. He said they pertain to
allotment of lands to the prospective investors, in information technology and
other industries in the state. The sources said that there were many cases
where several industrialists had shown interest to set up their units in the
state and they did not want the details to be revealed till the government
completes all formalities, including allotment of land. Keeping their request
in view, the government had marked such GOs as confidential. Once the process
was complete then the GOs would become open for all to see, the source said.
However, a
random check of some of the confidential GOs issued by the government in July
2014 continues to remain confidential. These GOs do not pertain to any industry
or such important sectors. They pertain to departmental proceedings against
public servants and service matters. But officials also say that there are
confidential GOs issued in August 2015 were now available for anyone to read
them.
However, some
officials, including senior IAS officers and opposition party leaders, feel
that it was not a good practice. It gives an impression that the government was
trying to suppress information from the public. It also goes against the basic
principle of Section 4 of Right to Information Act which says, “The basic
premise of the Right To Information (RTI) Act is the concept that the
individual citizen is a sovereign in his own right, and is the owner of the
Government.”
Striking a
dissent note, another official from the Information Technology, Electronics and
Communications Department said, “There are some big names who want to come to
the State to invest, and this they wanted to do by shifting their base from
that state where they are at present located.
It was against this back drop they have requested us not to disclose
their names for time being. The GOs have been marked confidential in the
interest of the state.
When asked
whether there is any criteria as to which order could be kept under
confidential category, former finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy
clarified that there is no hard and fast rule or an established procedure on
this issue. Whatever that the government deems fit, it can do. After the
cooling period is over the confidential GO becomes public, he said.
A former
chief secretary, who did not want to be quoted, pointed out transparency shall
not mean doing away with confidentiality. The government could classify an
order as confidential, if it considers sensitive or in the state interest… However, when it comes to the issues like
GAD, land allocations, investments, I don’t think there is any rationale in
keeping them away from the public knowledge,” he added.
Even some of
the ministers told The Hans India that there is nothing new in this and it is
part of the routine administrative business done by any government.
.JPG)
.JPG)
