Appointment of Information Commissioner in Goa SIC under controversy
1 Nov, 2012It has been reported that the Goa state government plans to propose the name of the Goa Public Service Commission chairperson Prakash Dessai as Information Commissioner at the State Information Commission (SIC). The Right to Information (RTI) activist and lawyer Aires Rodrigues has opposed the move claiming that such an appointment would be in violation of the provisions of the Constitution of India. Speaking at a RTI seminar at the International Centre-Goa, Dona Paula, he said that the chairperson of a public service commission cannot be appointed to any other government post after retirement as per the Constitution.
Earlier Pandurang Nadkarni had to pull out from the race for appointment as the Information Commissioner at SIC after RTI applications revealed discrepancies in his educational qualification.
The issue whether the office of the Goa governor is covered under the purview of the RTI Act has been under dispute for a long time now. Will the state of Goa be able to create a transparent environment for the RTI Act?