By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 18 Mar: The Uttarakhand State Information Commission is currently unable to hold hearings due to a severe shortage of officials, with only one State Information Commissioner remaining in office. The absence of a Chief Information Commissioner and multiple vacant positions have brought proceedings to a standstill, forcing petitioners and complainants to be given new hearing dates indefinitely.
As per regulations, the Commission should consist of a Chief Information Commissioner and up to ten State Information Commissioners. These officials are appointed by the Governor based on recommendations from a committee comprising the Chief Minister (as Chairperson), the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and a state Cabinet Minister.
Commission members are required to be individuals of eminence in public life and are prohibited from holding any other office of profit, associating with political parties, or engaging in business or professional activities during their tenure.
Vipin Chandra, a senior retired officer of the Indian Revenue Service, had been serving as State Information Commissioner since 3 March 2022 prior to his retirement on 2 March this year.
It may be recalled that, in Uttarakhand, there has been a trend of appointing very senior retired officers, most of them being retiring Chief Secretaries directly as Chief Information Commissioners instead of promoting Information Commissioners. With the exception of Anil Chandra Punetha, all other Chief Information Commissioners, namely RS Tolia, NS Napalchyal and Shatrughna Singh have been ex-chief secretaries.
Chief Information Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha was the last serving Chief Information Commissioner in Uttarakhand and he retired in May 2024. Following him, Information Commissioner Vivek Sharma had been functioning as the Acting Chief Information Commissioner, but he too retired on 4 January and now Vipin Chandra, who succeeded as Acting Chief Information Commissioner till the appointment of a Chief Information Commissioner also retired on 2 March. It remains to be seen when the government appoints a Chief Information Commissioner. The post of Chief Information Commissioner has been vacant since 9 May 2024. The retirement of Vipin Chandra leaves only Yogesh Bhatt as the remaining information commissioner. Without a functioning Chief Information Commissioner whether whole time or acting, hearings cannot take place. Speaking to Garhwal Post, State Information Commissioner, Yogesh Bhatt today confirmed that he is the only state information commissioner at present after the retirement of Vivek Sharma and Vipin Chandra. However, the Commission, which previously had up to five commissioners working simultaneously, now operates with just one former journalist Yogesh Bhatt, who is also set to retire in about a year from now. While earlier, the posts carried a term up to 5 years, now the term of service in the Commission is up to 3 years only.
The appointment process has historically been slow in Uttarakhand, with the state governments showing little urgency in filling vacant positions. While the last appointment to the Commission was made nearly two years ago, multiple positions have remained unfilled since then despite a large number of applications pending with the government for consideration.
Sources indicate that Chief Secretary Radha Raturi has applied for the position of Chief Information Commissioner, and with her retirement from her current role at the end of this month, she is seen as a strong contender for the post. However, there has been no movement from the government in appointing State Information Commissioners since long even when the commission’s functioning remains severely crippled in absence of the information commissioners.
