Prespective: RTI a costly affair in Hyderabad?

Obtaining information through Right to Information (RTI) just became a costly affair. An activist, who had earlier this month sought information on developmental works was left flummoxed after the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board (HMWS&SB), in their reply , asked him to pay a whopping Rs 32,470 for providing the demanded statistics.

In a series of five questions, a social activist Mohammed Abdul Akram of Yugantar (NGO) sought data on the number of completed and pending projects in Moghalpura, and the budgeted amount earmarked for each.He had also requested information on the list of borewells sanctioned from 2009 to 2014, apart from requesting details on the number of sanctioned bore-wells which were yet to be dug.


Instead of furnishing the information, HMWS&SB general manager of O&M division 1, Miralam S V Ramana Rao on November 11 gave the applicant a list of charges which the water works department would reportedly incur in providing the information.

What is ironic is that out of the Rs 32,470 “fee“, only Rs 60 was mentioned as cost component for typing and printing the information.

Invoking section 7 (3) of the RTI Act in reply to the NGO activist, the HMWS&SB said that it would need a technical officer (TO), a manager, an attendant and a data processing officer (DPO) to procure the information and that the entire procedure would take eight days. Calculating salaries of each staff member for the same period, the applicant was asked to shell out Rs 17,240 as changes for deputing the TO, Rs 4,434 for the manager, Rs 7,672 for the attendant and Rs 3,064 for the DPO.

“The information I sought was simple. I have not asked for any technical plans.By unjustifiably charging me, it seems the HMWS&SB is trying to block information,“ Akram claimed.

When INNLIVEI tried to contact the HMWS&SB general manager of O&M division 1, Miralam S V Ramana Rao, he remained unavailable for comments.