CityLightBuzz: Former Corporation Chairman Dr. Errolla Srinivas on Tuesday alleged that the Telangana Government has failed to make thousands of Government Orders (GOs) public despite directions from the High Court, accusing it of violating court orders and compromising transparency in governance. Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, Dr. Srinivas claimed that between December 7, 2023, and January 25, 2025, the state government issued 19,064 Government Orders (GOs), but uploaded only 3,290 of them to the public domain, leaving over 15,700 GOs undisclosed. He said the BRS had approached the High Court seeking directions to upload all GOs on the official public portal. According to him, the Court directed the government to make all GOs public within eight weeks, but the government failed to comply. As a result, he said, a contempt of court petition has now been filed. Dr. Srinivas alleged that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who had earlier criticised the previous BRS government over transparency, is now following the same practice by withholding Government Orders from the public. He recalled that during the BRS government, GO No. 4 (2015) was introduced to ensure that all Government Orders were uploaded to the public domain. However, he alleged that the present government has not adhered to the same principle. Presenting department-wise figures, he claimed that only a small fraction of GOs issued by the SC, ST, BC, Minority Welfare, General Administration, Health, Education, and several other departments have been made public. He questioned why these GOs were being withheld and demanded an explanation from the government. Dr. Srinivas also alleged that individuals without Cabinet rank were being appointed to important positions and raised concerns over the functioning of the Secretariat. He further alleged that the Secretariat was increasingly being used by middlemen and lobbyists instead of focusing on public welfare. He urged the government to immediately upload all pending Government Orders to the public domain in the interest of transparency and accountability. He also warned that continued non-compliance with the court’s directions could have legal consequences for the officials concerned. Concluding his remarks, Dr. Srinivas said the government should respect the spirit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and ensure that all Government Orders are made accessible to the public. He alleged that there was a growing gap between the government’s promises of transparent governance and its actions.
