Telangana govt appoints five state Information Commissioners

The Telangana government on Monday appointed Katta Shekar Reddy, Guguloth Shankar Naik, Syed Khaleelullah, Myda Narayana Reddy and Md Ameer as state Information Commissioners.

A government order (GO) has been issued on the appointments by state Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar. The Information Commissioners shall hold office for three years from the date they assume office or till the age of 65 years whichever is earlier.

While Shekar Reddy and Narayan Reddy are senior journalists, Syed Khaleelullah and Md Ameer are lawyers. Shankar Naik is a political and social worker, according to sources.

This comes just two months after the state government appointed former High Court judge Justice C V Ramulu and former Law Secretary V Niranjan Rao as Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta respectively in December last year.

It also appointed G Chandraiah, a former judge of the High Court, as Chairman of the State Human Rights



Commission at the same time, while N Ananda Rao and Mohammed Irfan Moinuddin were appointed as members of the Commission.

The appointments were made after the state government drew flak for leaving these posts empty for a long period of time.

In October, the state also filled the posts in the State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) after the body had been defunct for around two whole years.

J Srinivasa Rao had been selected as the chairperson of the SCPCR, while Raga Jyothi, B Aparna, P Anjan Rao, Shobha Rani, A Devaiah and Brundhadhar Rao were named as its members.

However, the Telangana government is yet to appoint a Chairperson for the State Women's Commission, which has been empty for over a year.

With cases piling up and the Women's Commission remaining headless, the Sakhi Centre in Hyderabad has stepped in to provide timely intervention.