Vellore Corpn non-committal in reply to RTI query, locals irked

M Somu of Gandhinagar filed an RTI query seeking information on the roads (cement or tar), borewells, drains, overhead tanks, water supply duration, stormwater drains etc provided to Gandhinagar over the last 10 years after it was made a ward (no.48) of Vellore Corporation.

Speaking to DT Next, he said: “I filed the RTI query as the last resort after petitioning the Collector twice. The letters were forwarded to Vellore Corporation which failed to give any reply. Then I visited the Corporation office at Vellore and interacted with officials many times asking them for details. They would always say that they would send me a reply son. It was only when this too did not materialise that I filed my queries under the RTI Act.”

However, Somu was taken aback by the non-committal RTI reply which provided no answer to his numerous questions but stated that such information was not sought for the public good and that replies to his queries would have to be based on guesswork. It also stated that his queries would waste government time.

Kumaran, another Gandhinagar resident, said: “We are provided with no facilities despite the Corporation collecting all taxes from us for the last ten years. We get drinking water from common taps put up when Gandhinagar was part of Ariyur village panchayat.”

A Varadarajan of the area said: “The Corporation’s answer is meant to divert attention as it raises questions of whether funds meant for work in this ward were filched by the local body’s subordinate officials without work being done.”

Locals said they would meet higher officials till justice is granted.