Chennai: Tamil Nadu Government has appointed senior bureaucrat R Rajagopal, presently Additional Chief Secretary to Governor, as the next Chief Information Commissioner of the state. Housing Board managing director Anandrao Vishnu Patil will move to the Raj Bhavan as the secretary to Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
Rajagopal belongs to the 1984-batch IAS and was a contender for the post of Chief Secretary until the Government decided on elevating Finance Secretary P Shanmugam. He has just one year to retire but now with this appointment to the Information Commission as the Chief, he would hold office for three years.
“Rajagopal will hold office for a period of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office or the date on which he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier,” said the government order issued late evening of Monday.
The state information commission has been headless since May after the CIC Sheela Priya quit office. There are six other information commissioners in the office situated at Teynampet in the city.
Sources said a selection committee comprising Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Minister D Jayakumar holding the personnel and administrative reforms portfolios met and recommended Rajagopal's name to Governor Purohit for his clearance. The third member of this Committee, DMK chief Stalin, boycotted the meeting alleging that it lacked transparency. He alleged that the CIC choice had already been made and the selection committee was “just a farce” for hiding the government's corrupt practices. He also said he was not provided with details of the candidates under consideration.
Minister Jayakumar, speaking to reporters outside the Raj Bhavan after his meeting with Governor Purohit, dismissed Stalin's charges and said the DMK chief had well known that the usual practice was to have the details of the candidates under consideration inside a sealed cover, which would be opened only at the meet.
