Odisha Government Begins Process for Appointing Lokayukta Chairperson After Two-Year Delay

BHUBANESWAR: After a long delay of more than two years, the state government has finally started the process for appointment of the Odisha Lokayukta chairperson. The first meeting of the selection committee comprising Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Speaker of the Assembly Surama Padhy and leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik was held on Monday evening, though no names for the post have been disclosed. Sources said, the committee discussed several names for the head of the anti-corruption watchdog. A retired judge of the Orissa High Court is also said to have attended the meeting. The committee will meet again to discuss and come to a decision in the later phase. Apart from the chairperson, other members will also have to be finalised, the sources informed. The Lokayukta has been in a defunct state following retirement of chairman Justice Ajit Singh in March, 2024. Subsequently, two other members of the body Justice Bijaya Kumar Nayak (judicial member) and Debabrata Swain (non-judicial member) retired in April that year. The last non-judicial member, ex-IPS officer Rajendra Prasad Sharma, retired in August 2024. The Orissa High Court has also taken serious note of the delay in filling up the posts and repeatedly directed the government to take steps to make the panel functional. Hearing three separate PILs, the High Court had granted the state government time till January 13 this year to file a report on the status of appointment of the chairperson and three members of the Lokayukta.