Upload all GO's on official websites: Centre's diktat to states

Hyderabad: The Centre has asked the states to upload all government orders (GOs) on their official websites within six months, stressing that citizens must know of the decisions being taken by the governments.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that if all the GOs and relevant information are available online, there will not any need for filing applications under the RTI Act.

However, the Centre's latest move may not go down well with many states that are not updating their websites with the latest GOs. Recently, a petition filed in the Telangana High Court claimed that about 43,000 GOs had not been uploaded on the state's website. Similar complaints have also been made against other governments.

According to Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, all government departments, public sector units (PSUs) should voluntarily provide information to the public. "Information is the basic right of people in a democracy," said a social activist.

Despite 14 years have passed since the enactment of the RTI Act, several states and departments are just ignoring the legislation, said the Centre in its latest order. Under RTI, all GOs should be available on the respective websites of the states, said the Centre. The states should also share the details of tenders and agreements on the portals, it added.

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