Recent developments in the municipal department have sparked concerns over a lack of transparency. According to sources, 390 Government Orders (GOs) have been issued by the department so far, but only 8 of these have been made publicly accessible on the official website. This means that only about 2 per cent of these decisions are available to the public, while the remaining 98 per cent remain undisclosed.
Social activists are criticizing the Congress government for withholding information on crucial policy decisions. They argue that the public has the right to know who has benefited from various exemptions, concessions, and subsidies. The lack of transparency is particularly troubling in significant departments like GHMC, HMDA, water board, ORR, Musi River, Metro Rail, Hyderabad Growth Corridor, DTCP, and CDMA.
Ironically, Congress leaders who, while in opposition, had demanded that all decisions be made public, are now being questioned about why so much information is being kept hidden. The secrecy surrounding decisions in such important departments has raised suspicions among social activists, who insist that the government has an obligation to make these decisions accessible to the public.
The situation is not just limited to the municipal department. In the Panchayat Raj department, for instance, a total of 480 GOs have been issued since January, but only 26 of these have been uploaded to the department’s website. Activists are demanding that the government release all GOs and make them available online for public access.