Bhubaneswar: The first meeting of the Selection Committee for appointment of Lokayukta in the state was held Saturday evening.
Headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the committee nominated another member of the panel, which will be sent for approval of the Governor.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister in presence of Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra, High Court Chief Justice Kalpesh Satyendra Jhaveri, Chief Secretary AP Padhi and General Administration secretary AKK Meena at the state Guest House here.
The fifth member of the committee has been nominated. The name will be sent to Governor for his approval, Mishra said, adding, “A law expert’s name has been nominated. After the approval of Governor, notification will be issued in this regard.”
Sources said the state government will seek more time from Supreme Court for appointment of Lokayukta in the state as a lot of process has to be followed.
While hearing a case on appointment of Lokayukta in various states including Odisha July 10, the apex court had asked the state government to appoint the body in the state within three months. The Chief Secretary will file an affidavit before the apex court soon in this regard, a source said.
As per the Act, the Selection Committee will form a five-member search committee, which will have a term of two years. The Search Committee would enlist five persons for the Lokayukta chairperson’s post and 15 persons for Lokayukta member posts and recommend their names to the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee would then select a 6-member Lokayukta Mandal including the chairperson.