Civil society groups demand appointment of Lokayukta, CIC in Goa

The Hindu: Panaji: Thursday, 04 December 2014.

Civil society activists and organizations have criticized the unending delay in appointment of Lokayukta and State Information Commissioners in Goa.

Aires Rodrigues, an activist of Right to Information, has urged Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar to take immediate steps on a priority to appoint the Lokayukta and the long overdue State Information Commissioners (SICs).

In a letter to the Chief Minister on Wednesday, the activist lawyer has stated that the inaction in appointing the Lokayukta and SICs was contrary to the much publicized mantra of the government of “zero tolerance to corruption” and good governance with transparency and accountability.

The Goa RTI Forum has also been for long rooting for the activation of the State Information Commission, which is presently working with only a Chief Information Commissioner sans even proper premises and staff, forget about SICs.

Advocate Satish Sonka of Goa People’s Forum, another group has been urging the State government to implement the Goa citizens’ Right to Services Act so as the allow people’s access to services and reduce corruption and delay in service delivery.

Considering the previous experience of SIC selections having to be scrapped on two occasions owing in deficiencies in selection process, Mr. Rodrigues has urged the Chief Minister to select the Lokayukta and Information Commissioners in a very transparent manner and strictly in accordance with law.

Lamenting that the post of the Information Commissioner was vacant since the last SIC Afonso Araujo retired on August 3, 2010, Mr. Rodrigues has also sought that immediate steps be taken to select the next CIC as the current incumbent Leena Mehendale is due to retire next month.

He has demanded that independent minded persons of eminence who would not succumb to political pulls and pressures be appointed as the Lokayukta and Information Commissioners to keep a check on the current rampant corruption in the State and to ensure the proper implementation of the RTI.

Nationalist Congress chief spokesperson Trajano D’Mello has also backed the demand that Lokayukta and Information Commission be totally insulated from any interference or manipulation by the Government as “Goa at present does not have any menchaism to deal with corruption in higher places of governance and the mechanism for transparency stands crippled.”