HYDERABAD: Making government information readily available to citizens, rather than waiting for them to seek it through applications, is key to transparent governance, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla said on Friday. He stressed that voluntary disclosure and timely responses by public authorities are essential to strengthening the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Describing RTI as the “lifeblood of democracy”, the Governor said the law was not merely a piece of legislation but a cornerstone of transparency, accountability and public participation in governance.
He was addressing the RTI Week Celebrations-2026 organised by the Telangana Information Commission at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on Friday. Emphasising proactive disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act, Shukla said information on government schemes, policies, eligibility criteria and procedures should be made easily accessible to the public. Such disclosure would reduce the need for citizens to file RTI applications to obtain information that should already be available, he said.
He said RTI applications should not be treated as mere pieces of paper, as each could represent a public grievance, an assertion of rights or an appeal for justice. The success of the Act, he added, should not be measured only by the number of applications and appeals disposed of, but by the lasting improvements it brings to administrative practices and transparency.
The Governor called for wider access to government information in Telugu and other local languages to ensure that the law benefited people across the state.
Shukla asked Public Information Officers (PIOs) and First Appellate Authorities to handle every RTI application responsibly and provide impartial, clear and reasoned replies within the prescribed time limit. At the same time, he stressed the importance of balancing administrative transparency with citizens’ right to privacy.
During the event, Nalgonda Collector B Chandrashekhar and Bhadradri Kothagudem Collector Ankith were presented the state-level award in recognition of their districts’ performance in implementing the Right to Information (RTI) Act.