Why the delay in appointing CIC, TMC MP asks govt

New Delhi: The government was on Thursday questioned in Rajya Sabha over the delay in appointment of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) for more than a year,
leading to a huge build-up of pending cases.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Mohd Nadimul Haque (TMC) said due to non-appointment of the CIC, the pendency of appeals and complaints was over 33,000 now.

About 13,000 appeals and complaints are pending for disposal before the bench of CIC himself, which includes cases of important authorities.

The post of CIC is lying vacant since August 2014 when Rajiv Mathur retired.

He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had at the 10th anniversary of Central Information Commission stated that RTI applications should be replied in a transparent, timely and trouble-free manner.

"RTI replies should be timely, transparency and trouble-free. It will help in reducing possibilities of errors," Modi had stated.

But absence of a CIC is hampering that, Haque said and asked "why is the Prime Minister not appointing CIC." He demanded that the appointment of CIC should be
expedited and in future, the appointment should be made well in advance before the vacancy arises.