Govt appoints retd IAS officer Parida as chief information commissioner | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: State govt on Wednesday appointed Manoj Kumar Parida, a retired IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, as the new chief information commissioner of the Odisha State Information Commission. Parida will succeed J K Tripathy, according to a a govt statement.
Three new information commissioners were also appointed. The appointees are Pranabindu Acharya, a retired IPS officer, Kalpana Pattnaik, an advocate of Orissa high court, and Pabitra Mandal, a retired IAS officer.
Parida earlier served as the insurance ombudsman in Bhubaneswar for nearly three years. His appointment is expected to strengthen the commission’s commitment to transparency and accountability in public administration.
Odisha State Information Commission, which operates under the Right to Information Act, 2005, plays a crucial role in ensuring public access to govt information. Following the implementation of the Act, state govt set up its commission in 2006.
The commission’s primary responsibilities include hearing appeals on information shared by govt entities, investigating complaints regarding information denial by public officials, penalising violations and monitoring departmental compliance with RTI regulations.
The commission serves as a bridge between citizens and govt departments, facilitating transparency in governance. With these new appointments, state govt aims to expedite the resolution of pending RTI cases and improve the overall efficiency of information dissemination to the public.
According to available records, officials of different govt departments were penalised Rs 1.24 crore by the commission over the past five years for violations of the RTI Act.
As per the records, as many as 1,114 penalties were imposed on officials of 41 govt departments between 2019-20 and 2023-24, and an amount of Rs 1,24,91,200 was realised from them during the five-year period.
Three new information commissioners were also appointed. The appointees are Pranabindu Acharya, a retired IPS officer, Kalpana Pattnaik, an advocate of Orissa high court, and Pabitra Mandal, a retired IAS officer.
Parida earlier served as the insurance ombudsman in Bhubaneswar for nearly three years. His appointment is expected to strengthen the commission’s commitment to transparency and accountability in public administration.
Odisha State Information Commission, which operates under the Right to Information Act, 2005, plays a crucial role in ensuring public access to govt information. Following the implementation of the Act, state govt set up its commission in 2006.
The commission’s primary responsibilities include hearing appeals on information shared by govt entities, investigating complaints regarding information denial by public officials, penalising violations and monitoring departmental compliance with RTI regulations.
The commission serves as a bridge between citizens and govt departments, facilitating transparency in governance. With these new appointments, state govt aims to expedite the resolution of pending RTI cases and improve the overall efficiency of information dissemination to the public.
According to available records, officials of different govt departments were penalised Rs 1.24 crore by the commission over the past five years for violations of the RTI Act.
As per the records, as many as 1,114 penalties were imposed on officials of 41 govt departments between 2019-20 and 2023-24, and an amount of Rs 1,24,91,200 was realised from them during the five-year period.
