Fifty two retired IAS, KAS and IPS officers have applied for the post
of chief information commissioner in the state. Rest assured, public
information will continue to be as scarce as Mungaru Male in May
Someone should file an RTI to find out the various Orwellian ways the
state stonewalls free information. One tactic is to keep the posts of
chief information commissioner (CIC) and information commissioners
(IC) vacant, as it is now. Since that cannot be done on an indefinite
basis, the next best thing is to fill these slots with civil lifers —
IAS, IAS officers — men and women who have perfected dissembling into
a fine art, except, of course, when it is convenient to snitch on
their bosses.
Sources in the department of personnel administration and reforms
(DPAR) revealed that as many as 89 bureaucrats, top cops and judicial
officers, apart from the odd politician, have applied for the five
vacant posts — of CIC and four ICs — in the state information
commission.
The CIC's post has been vacant since the retirement of K K Mishra in
July 2010. And with IC K A Thippeswamy retiring on Oct 21, there are
currently only two ICs — H N Krishna and Virupakshappa. Besides, the
state government created three additional posts of IC in the beginning
of this year and all of them are vacant as well.
Fifty two retired IAS and IPS officials have applied for the post of
CIC and yet another 37 retired IAS, KAS and judicial officers for the
posts of ICs.
PLENTY OF PERKS
So, what's the big deal about these posts? Well, the designation of
CIC is equivalent to the post of a supreme court justice and brings
perks like a beacon car, official quarters and salary up to Rs 80,000
along with a part of the pension.
As it is, applications for these five posts have not been formally
called for. The 89 applications have to be screened by an expert
committee headed by the chief minister. The opposition leader in the
assembly and one cabinet minister is also part of the committee. The
selected candidates are referred to the governor for approval.
However, no one seems to be interested in screening the applications
and filling the posts, said a senior official from the Department of
Personnel and Administrative Reforms.
s a result of the vacant posts, citizens in Karnataka rarely get
information within 30 days, as the RTI Act promises. Not surprising
that the commission has more than 12,000 cases pending before it.
Sources in the information commission also told Bangalore Mirror that
if an application or complaint is listed for hearing, it would take
four months for that to happen. Though a fully-staffed information
commission can dispose of 600-630 applications every month, it is now
impossible due to the shortage of officers.
'Don't load IC with babus'
Be it a bureaucrat or activist, at the end of the day it does not make
any difference when it comes to work. However, I feel that the
composition of the Information Commission (IC) should not be ponderous
with bureaucrats. In fact, a couple of previous surveys have revealed
that the percentage of bureaucrats in Information Commission should
not be more than 50 per cent. Besides, there should be a proper
screening committee to appoint the Information Commissioner as
currently everything is done in an opaque manner.
— Shailesh Gandhi,
Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission
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