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Times of India: Chennai: Sunday, 11 April 2021.
In an unprecedented order, the state information commission has recommended that the state government compulsorily retire nine IAS officers who had headed the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) from 2011 to 2019. This is for "not discharging their duty with accountability and transparency", said an order passed by Information Commissioner S Muthuraj on March 25.
Muthuraj wrote to the state chief secretary recommending action against Surjit K Chaudhary, Vibhu Nayar, Kakarla Usha, D Jagannathan, K Srinivasan, K Nandakumar, S Jayandhi, N Venkatesh and G Latha.
When TOI asked chief secretary Rajeev Ranjan about the order, he said: "We will examine and take appropriate suitable action after getting the recommendations."
However, officials said information commission do not have powers to recommend compulsory retirement of IAS officers. "This is a very, very weird order. It was passed without any application of mind," said Surjit Chaudhary, who was the chairman of TRB from 2011 to 2014. The board has recruited around 40,000 teachers during his tenure and he retired five years ago.
"The information commission can recommend disciplinary action against only the information officers designated as per the RTI act if they do not provide information. Further, they cannot prescribe the punishment as it is the prerogative of the state government. In the case of IAS officers, the disciplinary authority is the Government of India," he said.
"Despite holding powers, the chairmen failed to correct the wrong questions and answer keys and did not provide relief to the candidates. Due to the lack of accountability from the subject experts, professors, and higher officials of TRB, the recruitment exams are cancelled and recruitment could not be completed, thereby wasting the resources of the government," Muthuraj said in his order.
Further, the commission as per the RTI act section 19 (8) (a) (ii) has added the TRB chairman as the public information officer and directed him to provide the information sought by the petitioner within 20 days.
In an unprecedented order, the state information commission has recommended that the state government compulsorily retire nine IAS officers who had headed the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) from 2011 to 2019. This is for "not discharging their duty with accountability and transparency", said an order passed by Information Commissioner S Muthuraj on March 25.
Muthuraj wrote to the state chief secretary recommending action against Surjit K Chaudhary, Vibhu Nayar, Kakarla Usha, D Jagannathan, K Srinivasan, K Nandakumar, S Jayandhi, N Venkatesh and G Latha.
When TOI asked chief secretary Rajeev Ranjan about the order, he said: "We will examine and take appropriate suitable action after getting the recommendations."
However, officials said information commission do not have powers to recommend compulsory retirement of IAS officers. "This is a very, very weird order. It was passed without any application of mind," said Surjit Chaudhary, who was the chairman of TRB from 2011 to 2014. The board has recruited around 40,000 teachers during his tenure and he retired five years ago.
"The information commission can recommend disciplinary action against only the information officers designated as per the RTI act if they do not provide information. Further, they cannot prescribe the punishment as it is the prerogative of the state government. In the case of IAS officers, the disciplinary authority is the Government of India," he said.
"Despite holding powers, the chairmen failed to correct the wrong questions and answer keys and did not provide relief to the candidates. Due to the lack of accountability from the subject experts, professors, and higher officials of TRB, the recruitment exams are cancelled and recruitment could not be completed, thereby wasting the resources of the government," Muthuraj said in his order.
Further, the commission as per the RTI act section 19 (8) (a) (ii) has added the TRB chairman as the public information officer and directed him to provide the information sought by the petitioner within 20 days.
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