Tuesday, 21 December 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
Four posts of information commissioners and one post of CIC are vacant in the commission from last two months
The Right to Information (RTI) Club of Uttarakhand has accused the state government of not appointing Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) due to political reasons since October which is hindering the work in Uttarakhand Information Commission (UIC).
The members said that RTI Act is time-bound legislation and the applicants must get the information in time as per the rules which is not being done due to the vacant post of CIC. Addressing the media persons in a Press conference in Dehradun, the president of the club BP Maithani said that four posts of information commissioners and one post of CIC are vacant in the commission for over two months now and as per the protocols, the commission cannot function in the absence of the latter. “Various departments of the state receive about one lakh applications under RTI every year.
There are several applications pending in the commission for over two months now and the commission is not taking any action on them in the absence of the CIC to meet the quorum. We have written to the chief minister Pushkar Dhami about the vacant position of CIC but no concrete action was taken on our complaint,” stated Maithani. He said the members were informed that the selection committee that includes the CM, a cabinet minister and a leader from the opposition had already conducted a meeting on November 2 to fill the vacant posts. However, he added, it has been over a month and nothing has been announced by the government. “This clearly indicates that the committee members could not agree on the candidates which continue to affect the work in the commission.
The Congress leader Harish Rawat has also alleged that political ploy by the government is causing a delay in appointment of the commissioner,” stated the club president. He said that the government should also include scholarly people from the society and keep the selection procedure transparent as per the Supreme Court orders. The members said that the administration will soon issue orders for a model code of conduct due to elections which will unnecessarily postpone the hiring of the new commissioner affecting the public once again. “What would an applicant do with the information after months that they need now under RTI? The government should leave this apathetic attitude and fill the posts following the apt procedure soon,” said the members.
