Sujit Sarkar, the former Director General of West Bengal Police, will be sworn into the post on Thursday. Sarkar retired as the DG this June. He will be assisting Arun Bhattacharya, the Chief Information Commissioner, a former bureaucrat who is heading the state information commission since 2006.

The appointment has had the RTI activists up in arms in a state which is at the bottom of the Right to Information (RTI) Act satisfaction table. They claim this has been done on grounds of favouritism and not transparency.

Under the RTI Act, there are provisions for 10 information commissioners at the state level, but West Bengal so far had only one. When search began for another commissioner, activists from the RTI Manch urged the Governor to intervene and make the election process more transparent by bringing it under the public domain. But despite its attempts, the Governor, whose term expires this month, has expressed his inability to take up the issue.

A letter from Governor’s Secretariat said: “With reference to your letter dated 12.11.09, I am directed by the Governor to say that he is thankful to your request but he regrets his inability to accede to it owing to his lack of time at present.”

The secretary West Bengal RTI Manch, Malay Bhattacharyya, said: “The state information commission has become a parking lot for retired bureaucrats and political loyalists. We fear such appointments would suppress information rather than bring it out in the open.”

Bhhattacharya, who was been spearheading the RTI campaign in the state since its inception, says the Manch is considering legal steps to challenge the appointment.

RTI activists say that in a situation where RTI implementation is poor in West Bengal, the appointment of former director general of police will be of no help in improving information delivery and spreading awareness about the act.

“It is no surprise that in West Bengal, where there has not been much enthusiasm about the Act, a former police head who have maintained secrecy all his career and followed Official Secrets Act has been appointed state information commisoner,” said Sabir Ahamed, a city-based RTI activist. Even the Opposition did not participate in the process of choosing the state information commissioner and they are also to be blame for such an appointment, Ahamed said.

“I do not have much idea about the organisation and since I am yet to join, I cannot comment,” Sujit Sarkar told The Indian Express. Regarding the criticism that he is a former DG, he said people from all streams of society have been entrusted with the responsibility and there is nothing wrong in the appointment.

Bengal hard of RTI hearing
In other states, each information commissioner hears three cases a day. The track record of West Bengal is three cases a month. So far, 13 penalties have been imposed in West Bengal, which is the lowest in the country.