Hyderabad activists alleges HYDRAA flouting RTI Act, seeks penal action
Hyderabad: Hyderbad based social and environmental activists has accused the Hyderabad Disaster Relief and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) of violating the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. In their complaint filed with the Telangana Information Commission on Tuesday.
The complaint from a social and environmental activist Lubna Sarwath and other points out that HYDRAA allegedly refuses to accept RTI applications and lacks transparency. The issue came to light on August 28, 2025, when Sarwath and fellow activists attempted to submit three RTI applications at the HYDRAA office.
Sarwath, a member of the Indian National Congress, said, “HYDRAA has received over Rs 100 crores from public funds according to Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) orders since July 2024. Despite this, the agency operates without basic accountability mechanisms.”
According to the complaint, officials refused to even accept the applications for inward registration. This incident prompted the formal complaint, which includes demands for penal action against the agency.
Some key allegations in the complaint are, first, HYDRAA officials allegedly refused to accept RTIs, which go against legal rules. Second, the agency hasn’t shown details of the Public Information Officer (PIO) or the First Appellate Authority at its office. This is required under Section 4 of the RTI Act. Third, HYDRAA doesn’t have an official website and isn’t on the Telangana government portal (telangana.gov.in). No details of staff, salaries, or functioning are available in the public domain. Lubna's complaint also highlighted that a private WordPress site (https://hydra.org.in/) with pop-ups is the only online reference found, raising concerns about its authenticity.
The complainant urges the Chief Information Commissioner to secure HYDRAA’s compliance with the RTI Act and Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) circulars, ensure acceptance and response to RTI applications, impose penalties under Section 20 of the RTI Act for non-compliance, and compensate the complainant for distress and time spent pursuing compliance.
After the meeting and submitting a representation to the Chief Information Commissioner, Dr. Sarwath said that the Commissioner promised to take action with the help of Municipal Administration Secretary Ilambarithi.
The complaint was submitted by Lubna Sarwath, Indian National Congress(INC), Hyderabad, Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, Environmental Activist, Amgoth Venkatesh, Gen Secy TPCC & Campaign Committee Exec Member and Natesh Dravidian, Congress Seva Dal SM incharge Hyderabad.