CHENNAI: Amid activists' allegations of inefficiency of the Right to Information (RTI) agency and attempts to kill its purpose, the State government has initiated the process to bolster the Tamil Nadu Information Commission by appointing two additional Information Commissioners.

The State government has constituted a search committee, headed by retired Justice KBK Vasuki, to identify eligible members for the body. An official notification said applications from eligible candidates would be received till January 27.

At present, the Tamil Nadu Information Commission comprises the Chief Information Commissioner and five Information Commissioners—Md Shakeel Akhter, P Thamarai Kannan, P Priyakumar, K Thirumalaimuthu, VPR Elamparithi, and M Natesan. The State government has decided to increase the strength by appointing two more commissioners.

The search committee is headed by Justice KBK Vasuki, with retired IAS officer MP Sivanarul and retired IPS officer K Radhakrishnan as members. The committee has invited applications from qualified and eligible candidates.

The State Information Commissioners will be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a committee comprising the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and a Cabinet Minister nominated by the Chief Minister. The government is planning to complete the appointments ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections.

According to the notification, aspirants must apply in the prescribed format, which can be downloaded from the State government website (www.tn.gov.in/job-opportunity.php). The completed application should be sent by post and by e-mail (chairperso2026@gmail.com) on or before January 27.

Applications should be addressed to Justice KBK Vasuki, President, Search Committee, Second Floor, No.108, Armenian Street, Parrys Corner, Chennai–600001.

Candidates from fields such as law, science, social service, management, journalism, mass media, administration, and governance are eligible to apply. After scrutiny, the search committee will forward a panel of names to the government.