Guv stalls Usmani's appointment as CIC

Governor Ram Naik has stalled the appointment of former Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani as the new Chief Information Commissioner of the state and has returned the file saying it does not have vigilance clearance.

Sources in the Raj Bhawan said on Thursday the file was sent back to the Government for seeking vigilance clearance on probes going against the officer.

Usmani was questioned in the coal scam by the CBI as he handled the coal auction during his stint in the Prime  Minister’s Office.Besides, Usmani is yet to take VRS from the Indian administrative services. He presently holds the post of Revenue Board Chairman, being the senior-most officer of the cadre.The name of Usmani was sent to the Governor for his approval on November 3.

The long-awaited meeting of the panel to fill up the post of CIC and one information commissioner was held at the official residence of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Besides Yadav, the meeting was attended by leader of Opposition, Swami Prasad Maurya, and Health Minister Ahmed Hasan.Usmani, a 1978 batch IAS officer who was removed from the post of Chief Secretary after the Samajwadi Party’s defeat in the lok Sabha election, is one of the several applicants for the CIC post.There are several big names in the fray, including IAS officers JP Sharma and CB Paliwal and senior journalist Ram  Dutt Tripathi.