TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Two state information commissioners are likely to be selected on March 4 when the three-member committee chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar meets.
Official sources confirmed that the committee, which includes deputy chief minister Francis D’Souza and opposition leader Pratapsing Rane, met Thursday afternoon to discuss the names of 10 shortlisted candidates. However, the committee decided to have one-to-one interaction with the candidates before finalizing the appointments.
The committee is set to meet on Monday to finalize the two names. Government had received 46 applications for the vacancies that were advertised for the fourth time in December 2013. The 10 shortlisted names include two retired IAS officers A K Wasnik and V K Jha, S G Marathe (joint secretary, law), former South Goa collector N D Agrawal, activist Juino D’Souza, former senior administrative and quasi-judicial official Union defence ministry Stanley Coutinho, former judge Sudin Sangodkar, faculty at V M Salgaocar college of law Naguesh Colvalkar, journalists Sanjay Dhavalikar and Sandesh Prabhudesai.
Government in July 2013 had selected Sandesh Prabhudesai and Stanley Coutinho for the posts when only one post was advertised. The selection of Prabhudesai was challenged by an advocate in court stating that he was unqualified for the post. There was also a signature campaign to oppose his candidature, which forced the government through a cabinet decision to scrap the appointments to the two posts on August 14 after it was challenged in the High Court.
