Indian
Express: Pune: Saturday, 18 April 2015.
When it comes
to selection of state information commissioners (SICs), the state government
seems to have a strong predilection for former bureaucrats. Right to
information (RTI) documents accessed by The Indian Express show that although
the state government had received applications from former judges, software
professionals and others from varied fields for the post, none of them was
selected for the position of SIC. Several social activists have questioned the
alleged and ironic “lack of transparency” in selecting the SIC, a post that is
supposed to encourage transparency.
Barring Vijay
Kuvalekar, who is from the field of journalism, all former SICs were, and
present SICs are retired bureaucrats. Kuvalekar who headed the SIC Pune bench,
and had for sometime held additional charge as the chief state information
commissioner, is a senior journalist.
The RTI Act
specifies that SICs “shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide
knowledge and experience in law, or science and technology, or social service,
or management, or journalism, or mass media or administration and governance.”
The state has 6 SICs functioning under a chief information commissioner.
As per the
RTI Act, a high-power committee comprising the chief minister, leader of
opposition in the legislature and a cabinet minister nominated by the chief
minister selects the SICs. Applications are received by the general
administration department (GAD) of the government, which places it before the
committee for selection. From 2005 to 2014, the GAD received 160 applications
for the posts of SIC. Applications are invited as and when there is a vacancy.
Scrutiny of
applications showed that of the 160 applicants, seven were former judges, eight
were lawyers, and six were senior professors including controller of
examinations of Mumbai University.
There were
two bankers, four journalists, and a large number of social workers including
Shivaji Raut, who had applied for the SIC positions. In some cases, the same
person had applied several times whenever there was a vacancy. The other
applications were from former or serving government officers.
The lack of
transparency in inviting applications as well as appointing SICs, RTI activist
Vijay Kumbhar said, was a cause for concern. “The same persons are shown to
have multiple applications, which is odd. The government is not transparent
when it comes to inviting applications and the public in general has no idea
where to apply,” he said. He said choosing former bureaucrats was unhealthy as
the RTI act clearly talks of appointing people from varied fields as the
information commissioner.
“There has
been several judgments by courts asking for transparency and clarity in the
process of appointing SICs. However, the Maharashtra Government has not
followed it,” he said.
Kumbhar added
that the state does not have a search committee to screen applications. He
reminded the state government of the formation of a search committee as
suggested by the special committee headed by Anna Hazare, who played an instrumental
role in the nation’s transparency laws.
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