Bhubaneswar, Oct. 6: Former principal director general of income tax Sunil Kumar Mishra is being considered for the post of chief information commissioner of Odisha, revealed a highly-placed source in the government. The 1981-batch IRS officer had retired in August.

The post of the state's chief information commissioner has been lying vacant since February 2015 after former chief secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra resigned from the post six months before completing his tenure citing personal reasons. A meeting was then held under the chairmanship of chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the secretariat to choose Tarun Kanti's successor. Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra had also attended the meeting.

The names of three bureaucrats - Sunil Kumar Mishra (IRS), former chief secretary of Tripura S.K. Panda (IAS) and principal secretary to Naveen Patnaik U.N. Behera (IAS) - were being considered at the meeting.

Sunil has a special interest in the state's development. Before his retirement, he served as the principal director general of income tax of seven states, including Odisha. He did his graduation from Paralakhemundi and master's in political science from Delhi University.