Shekhawat gets charge of Haryana chief information commissioner

The Haryana government has ordered that state information commissioner Pradeep Kumar Shekhawat will also look after the work of the state chief information commissioner (SCIC).

According to chief secretary Anurag Rastogi’s orders, Shekhawat will hold the charge of the state chief information commissioner in addition to his present assignment till the appointment of a new SCIC or till further orders.

He will not be given any additional remuneration, the orders said.

At present, there are three information commissioners — Jagbir Singh, Pradeep Kumar Shekhawat, and Kulbir Chhikara. The post of chief information commissioner and seven of the 10 sanctioned posts of information commissioners in the State Information Commission, Haryana, have been vacant since March 24.

Former chief information commissioner Vijai Vardhan, a former chief secretary of Haryana and a retired IAS officer, and Satyaveer Singh Phulia, also a retired IAS officer and one of the information commissioners, completed their three-year tenure on March 24.

Earlier, another information commissioner, Jyoti Arora, a former IAS officer, retired from the panel in January this year.

New appointments seem unlikely as the selection committee must include a leader of the opposition. The Congress, the largest opposition party, is yet to elect its legislative party leader.

A former state information commissioner, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the ongoing situation was leading to prolonged delays for litigants.