By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 26 Mar: Even though the post of Lokayukta has remained vacant in Uttarakhand for more than 12 years, the Lokayukta office continues to receive complaints against public servants, indicating a persistent public expectation of accountability. Such long time inaction on the part of various governments since 2013 in appointing a Lok Ayukta in the state has only confirmed the public perception that the governments have not been keen on the appointment.
This is despite strict directions issued by, both, the Supreme Court and the High Court, instances of senior officials being jailed on corruption charges, and repeated claims by the government of maintaining zero tolerance towards corruption. Meanwhile, the office and staff at the Lok Ayukta in Uttarakhand, continue to operate with an amount exceeding Rs 19.64 crores having been spent on the department even in the absence of a functioning Lokayukta. The details of the expenditure on maintaining the office and the staff of the Lok Ayukta have been obtained through an RTI query by Nadeem Uddin, based in Kashipur. In response to his query, Public Information Officer Pramod Kumar Joshi has furnished details of the expenditure incurred on Lok Ayukta Office and regarding the complaints received and lying pending.
According to the information made available, a total of 1,732 complaints are pending in the Lok Ayukta office at present. Between 1 November 2013, when the post fell vacant, and 20 March 2026, a total of 1,096 corruption-related complaints have been received.
The data further reveals that 118 complaints were received between 2022 and 2025, while 15 complaints have been received in 2026 up to the date of furnishing information. Year-wise figures indicate that from 1 November 2013 to 31 December 2014, 422 complaints were received; 181 in 2015; 97 in 2016; 86 in 2017; 54 in 2018; 67 in 2019; 24 during the COVID-19 pandemic year; and 22 in 2021.
Following the retirement of Lok Ayukta Justice MM Ghildiyal on 31 October 2013 the matter regarding appointment of the Chairperson and members has remained under consideration at the level of the state government with no serious effort visible on the ground to move forward towards appointing the Lok Ayukta.
It may be recalled that, during the hearing of PIL No 161 of 2021 on 18 March this year, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay of the Uttarakhand High Court had expressed strong displeasure over the failure to appoint a Lok Ayukta despite court orders. The bench has granted two weeks’ time to the state government to submit a status report. The next hearing has been scheduled for 1 April, 2026. It may further be recalled that, through an order dated 27 June 2023, a bench comprising the then Chief Justice and Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal had directed the government to complete the process of appointment of the Lok Ayukta within a maximum period of six weeks. Even then, the government did not take any action in this regard. It may be pertinent to remember that the 2023 order had also referred to an affidavit submitted by Additional Secretary Lalit Mohan Rayal on behalf of the government, which mentioned that expenditure amounting to Rs 29. 74 crores had been incurred on the Lokayukta up to the financial year 2022–23. It further recorded that an assurance had been given by the state government before the Supreme Court in GIL No 57 of 2016 (Ashwini Kumar vs State of Uttarakhand) regarding the appointment of the Lok Ayukta, which has not been complied with.
As per the RTI response given by the government, a total amount of Rs 19.64 crores has been spent from the financial year 2014–15 to 2025–26 (till now) during the period when no Lok Ayukta was in place. The year-wise expenditure includes Rs 145.12 lakhs in 2014–15, Rs 133.52 lakhs in 2015–16, Rs 176.89 lakhs in 2016–17, Rs 188.29 lakhs in 2017–18, Rs 213.46 lakhs in 2018–19, Rs 209.51 lakhs in 2019–20, Rs 198.48 lakhs in 2020–21, Rs 197.43 lakhs in 2021–22, Rs 244.48 laksh in 2022–23, Rs 204.11 lakhs in 2023–24, Rs 128.69 lakhs in 2024–25, and Rs 69.51 lakhs in 2025–26.
As everywhere else in the country, the institution of Lok Ayukta in Uttarakhand was envisaged as a key anti-corruption mechanism empowered to inquire into allegations against public functionaries, including ministers and senior officials. While Justice (Retd) SHA Raza served as the first Lok Ayukta in Uttarakhand, Justice (Retd) MM Ghilidyal served as the second Lok Ayukta of the state. During this period, the Lok Ayukta Act was amended in 2011 reportedly with the objective of establishing a strong and independent ombudsman system. However, since the retirement of Justice Ghildiyal on October 31, 2013, the post has remained vacant for well over a decade, rendering the institution largely ineffective despite the existence of a statutory framework and continued public reliance on it for redressal of corruption-related grievances. The prolonged vacancy, despite repeated judicial interventions and assurances by the state government, raises serious questions regarding the commitment to operationalising the anti-corruption framework in the state.
