Lobbying begins for posts of Info Commissioner

Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 29

The State Information Commission is turning out to be an attractive post-retirement option for Uttarakhand IAS officers who are on a look out for lucrative posts, perks and continuity with the government. Hence, many IAS officers have begun lobbying for coveted posts.

Though Additional Chief Secretary S Raju will retire in April 2016, he has started lobbying for the post of a State Information Commissioner to fall vacant soon. In all, there are five posts of State Information Commissioner and one post of Chief Information Commissioner.

“We have already received a letter in this regard at the Department of General Administration. Most likely Raju may offer to retire two months in advance depending on vacant posts in the commission. In a way, by making an astute advance judgement, he has tried to book a place for himself,” said a senior official.

Already there are two vacant slots in the State Information Commission.

Significantly, Chief Secretary N Ravi Shankar, who will be retiring this month, is tipped to become the Chief Information Commissioner, while another Secretary retiring in June next year is also in the race for the post of State Information Commissioner.

However, it is two posts of State Information Commissioner that will fall vacant in October that S Raju is coveting and is likely to plan his early retirement around that time or a few months later. In the past, former Chief Secretary Alok Jain had taken retirement at least nine months in advance as the government had decided to rehabilitate him by appointing him head of the Right to Service Authority.

Similarly, in the case of former Chief Secretary Subash Kumar the government appointed him the Chairman of the Uttarakhand Electricity Regularity Authority, with the hope that he too would put in his papers early. But, due to the general elections in 2014, the Central government extended his tenure by six months. Subash Kumar continued to hold charge of an authority against the rules.

Aware that both State Information Commissioners Prabhat Dabral and Vinod Sharma would retire in October this year, S Raju has already started lobbying and clearly made his retirement plan known.