Odisha Govt Appoints Fifth Member Of Lokayukta Appointment Committee

Bhubaneswar: Four days before the expiry of the Supreme Court deadline, the Odisha government on Saturday selected the fifth member of the Lokayukta Appointment Committee.

The selection of the fifth member of the committee was decided at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the presence of Speaker of the Odisha Assembly Pradip Amat, Leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra and Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court KS Jhaveri at the State Guest House here in the evening.

Informing the media later, the Leader of the Opposition said the name of the fifth member of the Committee, who is a legal expert, will be sent to the Governor. Following his approval, the Selection Committee will select five members of the Search Committee which will in turn pick the Lokayukta and the other members of the Lokayukta Mandal and recommend their names to the Selection Committee for its consideration.

It may be recalled that the Lokayukta Bill was passed in the Odisha Assembly on February 14, 2014. However, the state government had not taken any step till then. Taking strong exception to the non-implementation of its order, the Supreme Court on July 10 had directed the state government to complete the process for appointment of the Lokayukta by October 10.