The High Court is not inclined to intervene in the matter as the arrangements for the survey were in an advanced stage
Hyderabad High Court
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Monday refused to grant a stay on the Intensive Household Survey to be conducted on August 19, by the Telangana State government across the state.
Justice Vilas Afzulpurkar, dealing with a house motion moved by practicing advocate P.V. Krishnaiah seeking a stay on the survey, made it clear that the court is not inclined to intervene in the matter as the arrangements for the survey were in an advanced stage and the government had categorically made a statement before the court on an earlier occasion that the disclosure of information is purely on a voluntary basis and there is no compulsion.
On August 14, the judge gave a green signal to the TS government to go ahead with the survey, as the government assured that the household survey is to be conducted only for the purpose of enabling it to extend its welfare schemes to its citizens, particularly in view of the anomalies noticed in the implementation of the said schemes.
Mr Krishnaiah argued that the state government has no power to go ahead with the survey just based on a circular issued for the same. If the government intends to hold the survey it has to notify it in the Gazette as per the provisions of the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 (Central Act 7 of 2009). The GOs which the government is relying upon are related to sanction of funds and appointing special officers to oversee the survey; they are not treated as notification for the survey.
K. Ramakrishna Reddy, advocate general, submitted that the extensive household survey will be conducted as per GO Rt No. 369, dated August 12, and GO Rt No 372 issued on August 13, 2014, and both GOs were published in a gazette notification. He contended that the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008, was not applicable in the present case as the household survey is to be conducted only for the purpose of enabling the government to extend its welfare schemes to its citizens. After the arguments, citing the provisions of the Act, the judge observed that no provision under the Act prohibits conducting of any such survey otherwise than under the Act. While dismissing the interim application, the judge admitted the plea.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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