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Civil rights groups have expressed concern over the Andhra Pradesh government’s unwillingness to disclose details regarding the MoU signed with Google for a proposed data centre in Visakhapatnam.
Objections were raised by the Human Rights Forum (HRF) and the United Forum for RTI Campaign (UFRTI) after the Andhra Information Technology, Electronics and Communication (ITE&C) department refused to respond to an RTI query asking for the MoU to be made public.
“As the MoU contains information treated as confidential by a third party, its disclosure is restricted under Section 11 of the RTI Act, 2005, and section 8 (1) (d) of the said Act,” the department had replied.
A copy of the RTI query and its reply has been accessed by TNM.
“The state government has been projecting the agreement as a landmark investment and ‘game-changer’ with far-reaching economic benefits and that it will position the state as a digital infrastructure hub. However, the government has refused to make the contents of the MoU available and its continued opacity in the matter clearly violates the basic principles of the Right to Information Act, 2005,” the HRF said in a statement.
HRF also argued that citizens had a right to know about the data centre, especially given its potential impact on water, energy use, land and data governance.
“When agreements of such magnitude – the Google Data Center is said to involve an investment of 15 billion dollars – are signed in secrecy, it erodes public trust and undermines democratic oversight,” the statement added.
HRF argued that the government’s refusal not only violates the letter and spirit of the RTI Act but also raises serious concerns about the government’s commitment to transparency in matters related to critical public resources.
HRF also noted that five out of the eight posts in the AP State Information Commission, including that of the Chief Information Commissioner, remain vacant.
“As a result, the commission is unable to function with its full mandate, hear appeals, enforce orders or ensure compliance under the RTI Act. The recurrence of such vacancies now raises grave concerns about the state’s commitment to sustaining an effective and independent transparency regime,” HRF further said.
HRF demanded that the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) be appointed and all vacancies in the Information Commission be filled without further delay and asked the Andhra Pradesh government to immediately upload all documents relating to the MoU with Google Data on an official public platform.