Times of India: Bengaluru: Monday, August 21, 2017.
Even as the
state delays the appointment of the chief information commissioner (CIC), RTI
activists are asking the government to appoint people other than retired IAS or
IPS officers.
The Karnataka
Information Commission (KIC) has been without a chief since November 2016 when
D N Naraishma Raju resigned. The government issued a notification in December
inviting applications from persons interested in becoming the CIC, but an RTI
activist moved the high court against the notification saying it violates
provisions of the act.
Converting
the writ petition filed by T Narasimhamurthy into a public interest litigation,
the court asked the government to put the appointment process on hold for three
weeks from August 10. "The coveted CIC post has been occupied by retired
IAS officers all along. Our appeal is that people of eminence from across
domains should be given an equal opportunity to head it," said
Narasimhamurthy, an advocate.
RTI activists
say the notification is in violation of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
"It says sitting MLAs, MPs and those who hold other office of profit are
not eligible. But the act says any person of eminence in public life can apply
and he has to resign from his office of profit if he is chosen as CIC.
Apparently, the government's move is to avoid people from other fields,"
said S Umapathi, an RTI activist who is among those resisting the appointment
of former bureaucrats as information commissioners.
The KIC has
had three chief information commissioners since its inception in 2005 — K K
Misra, AKM Nayak and DN Narasimhamurthy, all retired IAS officers. Misra is a
former chief secretary, while Nayak and Narasimhamurthy were principal
secretary to the chief minister.
The rumblings
against the appointment of bureaucrats are getting louder at a time when the
names of former chief secretary Aravind Jadhav and former director general of
police Om Prakash are doing rounds for the CIC post. The government has
received 166 applications, many of which are from retired IAS and IPS officers.
"We have
sent the applications to the chief minister's office, which will take the
process forward," said Rajamma, undersecretary, Janaspandana wing of the
department of personnel and administrative reforms (DPAR).
The selection
committee headed by chief minister Siddaramaiah will make the final decision,
and sources said the government is in favour of appointing a former bureaucrat.
"There
has been an inordinate delay in the CIC appointment and the government's
indifference could be seen as a move to undermine the institution," said L
Vasudevamurthy, a social activist and executive member of Visvesvaraya
Technological University.
Why is CIC
post sought after?
The CIC post
is sought after owing to the attractive salary and benefits. The tenure is five
years, and the salary is Rs2.5 lakh a month, inclusive of perks. The
post-retirement benefits include a monthly pension of Rs1.25 lakh and furnished
government accommodation. A retired CIC is entitled to an orderly, and can
claim reimbursements up to Rs 2,500 for monthly telephone bills. A former CIC
and spouse are entitles to be escorted by a protocol officer to the airport or
railway station. Y G Mularidharan, an RTI expert, said post-retirement benefits
for the CIC must be abolished. "'No such benefits are given to
chairpersons of human rights commission, electricity regulatory authority,
telecom regulatory authority and others. Why is it given only to CIC?" he
said.
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