Jammu and Kashmir gets its first CIC

Jammu, Jan 27 (PTI) Former top Income Tax officer G RSofi was today appointed as the first Chief InformationCommissioner of Jammu and Kashmir, six years after the stateenacted the landmark RTI.

The name of Sofi was decided after a meeting of ChiefMinister Omar Abdullah, leader of Opposition Mehbooba Muftiand Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand. However, the posts ofthe two Information Commissioners will remain vacant for thetime being.

The meeting to appoint the state CIC was postponedtwice earlier because Mehbooba had boycotted them but thistime she had agreed to join the meeting.

Jammu and Kashmir was the first state to enact theRight to Information (RTI) Act in 2004.

Sofi has served as chief IT commissioner of Jammu andKashmir till last year.

During the meeting, the name of former DirectorGeneral of Police Ashok Bhan was also considered but he couldnot make it to the coveted post.

Omar Abdullah government had last year decided onappointing former chief information commissioner (CIC) ofIndia Wajahat Habibullah, to the post. He was, however, notrelieved by the Centre.