Bhubaneswar, Oct. 19: Former principal director-general of income tax Sunil Kumar Mishra, a 1981-batch IRS officer, was today appointed the new chief information commissioner of Odisha.
A formal notification was issued in this regard after governor S.C. Jamir approved the government's recommendation.
The Telegraph, in its October 7 edition, had reported the government's choice.
The post had been lying vacant since February 2015 after former chief secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra had resigned six months before his scheduled retirement on personal ground.
In order to reach a consensus on his appointment, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had called a meeting on October 6 at the state secretariat, in which leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra and parliamentary affairs minister Bikram Keshari Arukh had took part.
Names of three senior bureaucrats, including Mishra, former chief secretary of Tripura S.K. Panda (IAS) and principal secretary to Naveen Patnaik (IAS) U.N. Behera, were discussed and both the chief minister and leader of Opposition had agreed on Mishra's name.
After the announcement of his appointment, Mishra had told The Telegraph: "I am thankful to everyone for reposing their faith in me. I will do my best to uphold the dignity of the post."
Mishra hails from Berhampur and has a special interest for the development of Odisha.
Before his retirement, he was based in Bangalore and had served as the principal director-general of income tax of seven states, including Odisha.
Mishra, after doing his graduation from Parlakhemundi, completed his MA in political science from the University of Delhi and had worked as a lecturer for three years before joining the all-India service.
The state government has begun the search for chairperson of the Odisha Energy Regulatory Commission.
Besides, close to three years have passed since the state passed the Lokayukta Act, but the process to appoint a Lokayukta is yet to begin.
The Assembly had passed the Lokayukta Act in February 2014 shortly after enactment of the central law. Odisha is the first state to enact the Lokayukta law after it was passed in the Parliament.
