Porwal, if appointed, will be among the many bureaucrats who have become the information commissioner.
Sunil Porwal, additional chief secretary (home), is among officials looking to become the information commissioner; his name as the probable successor has been doing the rounds too. Porwal, if appointed, will be among the many bureaucrats who have become the information commissioner.
DNA in its Sept 12, 2016 issue had reported about babus lining up for the job of the info commissioner. These included former additional chief secretary P S Meena, former transport commissioner Shyam Vardhane, former additional director general of police Ramrao Wagh, and Prakash Mahajan — former secretary of Marathwada Vikas Mahamandal. Some of them were even recommended by politicians. As of now, there is only one commissioner who was not a former bureaucrat in the state information commission.
Activists have often alleged that the post is taken up by bureaucrats when the RTI Act clearly states that commissioners should be eminent personalities from varied background. They have also alleged that most bureaucrats see it as a post retirement plan to park themselves and not as one where they wish to uphold transparency and the spirit of the RTI Act.
Not filling vacancies on time is often cited as one of the prime reasons for pending appeals that renders the RTI Act ineffective. In Maharashtra state information commission, three posts are vacant at the moment.
Shailesh Gandhi, former central information commissioner, said: "In this specific case, I do not have anything to say because I do not know him or his work. In general though there has to be transparency in selecting the commissioners. I am not saying that a bureaucrat makes a bad commissioner. Among some of the best commissioners we have had is Ratnakar Gaikwad, who was a retired bureaucrat. Over all, there should be transparency and some commitment towards the job on how they will make things more transparent and reduce pending appeals. The system is working only on networking, recommendation, and political patronage right now. They just do not evaluate the person before appointing him or her."
When contacted, Porwal did not comment. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis did not respond to a detailed question on Porwal's name being considered or the vacancy that will be filled or if the commissioners to be appointed will be considered from backgrounds other than bureaucracy. The post of commissioner is decided by the chief minister, leader of opposition, and a senior cabinet minister.
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Activists allege that the post is taken up by bureaucrats when the RTI Act clearly states that commissioners should be eminent personalities from varied background.
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