Pension for information commissioners

Bringing cheer to the Information Commissioners of the Tamil Nadu Information Commission, the State government has decided to sanction pension to the State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) and the State Information Commissioners (SICs), if they had not retired from government service while occupying these posts. Their pension would be on par with those who served in the Central Information Commission. Earlier, the Right to Information Act, 2005, had provision only for salaries and allowances and there was no mention about eligibility for pension. The Act fixes the monthly pay for the SCIC and the SICs at ₹90,000 and ₹80,000, respectively.

According to a notification, the State government has decided to sanction pension only to persons who are not retired govt. officials and who held the posts of the SCIC and the SICs for a minimum period of three completed years, at the rate of ₹16,020 per annum.

Currently, retired government officials who served as Information Commissioners receive a ‘service pension’ and any pension under the RTI Act, 2005, for the services rendered in the Commission would be by way of an ‘additional pension’.

Though the RTI Act didn’t provide for grant of pension, the Central Information Commission had, in 2006, framed the terms and conditions of service for sanction of pension to the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners. Three years later in 2009, the quantum of pension was revised at the rate of ₹16,020 per annum in respect of each completed year of service.