Governor Krishan Kant Paul administered oath of office to the newly appointed State Information Commissioners- J P Mamgain and C S Napalchyal-at Raj Bhawan on Friday.
The ceremony was attended among others by the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, senior Cabinet Minister Madan Kaushik, chief information commissioner (CIC) Shatrughan Singh and chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh. Speaking to the media persons after the oath was over, CM said that both the ICs have rich experiences in the realm of the art of administration and they would definitely lead to the proper functioning of the commission. He hoped that the pending cases in the State Information Commission (SIC) would be speedily resolved now.
In absence of the ICs, the normal work in the SIC was getting adversely affected. The five- year term of last IC Surendra Rawat had ended in June this year while another IC Rajendra Kothiyal had retired in May.
In the absence of ICs, the chief information commissioner (CIC) Shatrughan Singh had stopped taking hearing of the commission.
As per the regulations, it is mandatory to have at least two information commissioners for conducting any hearing. In the absence of hearing, over 1200 RTI appeals have remained piled up in the commission at present.
Notably, the appointment of IC is done by a three- member committee comprising the Chief Minister, a senior Cabinet Minister and the leader of the Opposition. The SIC was created out of the constitutional obligation under the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005 to dispose of the cases of appeals involving non-fulfilment of provisions under the RTI Act.