The uncertainty over selection of new Commissioners, including the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), of the Odisha Information Commission (OIC) continues with the much-awaited meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik failing to take s decision on Saturday. The State Government can appoint up to 10 Commissioners, including the CIC, but for now it has started the process for appointing only two Commissioners, including the CIC, since the OIC would soon become defunct for all practical purposes in the absence of any Commissioner.
The meeting, attended by the leader of Opposition in the Assembly Narasingha Mishra and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh, which was expected to finalise the names of the new incumbents, remained inconclusive. The decision on the appointment of Information Commissioners will be taken at the next meeting, said Arukh after the meeting without divulging what exactly prevented a consensus on the issue.
“The selection process is on. The names will be announced after they are finalised. The process is on; names from among the applicants are being considered and it’s not over yet,” said Mishra keeping everyone guessing about what could have transpired at the meeting. Official sources said 40 candidates had applied for the two posts and six of them have been shortlisted. But a veil of secrecy surrounds the shortlisted names.
While Jagadanand retired as the Information Commissioner in 2013, the outgoing CIC Tarun Kanti Mishra had informed Governor SC Jamir of his resignation from the post on March 4 well in advance on January 5. Mishra’s term would have ended on August 1 in the normal course. Currently, Pramod Mohanty is the lone Commissioner as his term will end in July.
The Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan, an apex organisation of RTI activists, has demanded a “transparent procedure” in the appointment of new Commissioners. It has demanded that the Government issue a detailed written and transparent procedure in respect of appointments, publicly declare the names of the applicants, their backgrounds, experiences and expertise, details of the Search Committee, inviting public view on the final list for the post of Commissioner prior to sending the name to the Governor for appointment. Abhijan members presented a memorandum in this regard to Governor SC Jamir seeking necessary direction to the Government.