In 12-minute meeting panel picks Ganai as Chief to revive dead SIC

JAMMU: In a meeting that lasted for as little as 12 minutes, a high level selection panel comprising Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Kumar Singh and Opposition leader Omar Abdullah, a former bureaucrat of impeccable integrity Khurshid Ahmed Ganai was picked up as the new Chief Information Commissioner to revive the State Information Commission which has been practically defunct for last three months.
The trio –designate as selection panel under the SIC Act –met Tuesday evening and signed papers confirming Ganai’s selection for the coveted post. Since the meeting was too brief to have any detailed deliberations, it looked like the Government and the Opposition had a broad consensus on Ganai’s name.
“The panel has deferred decision on selection of the two Information Commissioners to next meeting”, Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Commissioner Secretary in General Administration Department told The News Now.
Few months before his retirement as Financial Commissioner, Ganai was appointed by the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government as chairman of the Bureau of Public Enterprises on a three-year extension beyond superannuation. However, after the imposition of Governor’s rule upon demise of Mufti Sayeed, Ganai was picked up by Governor Vohra as his Advisor –an equivalent of Minister in the Governor’s administration.
Khurshid Ahmad Ganai who hails from Mattan in Anantnag had achieved second position in the IAS examination in 1982. He has held various key positions in Jammu and Kashmir during his illustrious tenure.
An alumni of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani Rajasthan, he studied Mechanical Engineering1974-1979.

In 2007, the then Governor of the State Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha conferred on him the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister’s Gold Medal for honesty, integrity and meritorious service and his outstanding contribution to the public welfare and development of the state.

The State Information Commission, it may be pointed out here, has been lying defunct November 2016 since the end in term of last serving member. Before that, last Chief Information Commissioner GR Sufi’s term ended in October. The government was facing severe criticism for not being able to appoint new chief and the members of the commission.

It may be mentioned that Jammu and Kashmir was one of the pioneering states which introduced the concept of transparency law as early as in 2004. In 2004, the State Legislature passed the Jammu & Kashmir State Right to Information Act (Act No: I of 2004, January 2004).