AP plans to dilute RTI powers: Anjali Bharadwaj

 Visakhapatnam: The State government is planning to dilute the powers of RTI in the name of transparent governance as it failed to appoint a Commissioner for RTI, opined RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj, who came from Delhi for a public meeting conducted on “AP Information Commission Issues of RTI applicants,” here on Friday in the city.

The National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) and United Forum for Right to Information (UFRTI), AP division had organised the public meeting. Various RTI activists from Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Godavari districts participated in the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, Anjali said that the AP Government had took a decision better not to appoint a Commissioner for RTI to dilute its power in the State especially with the government sectors. Even many projects are being carried out across the State but those project details were kept under dark with an intention to hide the lapses involved in the projects, she said.

The panel identified that many RTI activists were facing tough times and facing physical attacks and warnings from the opponents. Since last 20 months, the RTI commission was not working on a full range, as a result, all the activists were facing hard time in the state, the panel opined.