The office of the State Information Commission will start functioning from the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi from June 22. This is the first of the nine offices that Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has promised to shift to Belagavi.
The office would have jurisdiction over seven Bombay Karnataka districts. The commission will hear appeals against public information officers and other complaints from Right to Information Act applicants.
B.V. Geetha has taken charge as the Commissioner in charge of northern Karnataka. Some staff members have been posted to Belagavi while some others may be transferred in the next few months, officials said.
After division of cases, the Commissioner in charge of these northern districts has found that there are around 4,000 pending appeals and complaints. These will be tried in a phased manner, with the oldest appeals being heard first.
The commission’s office will not function during the period of the winter session of the State legislature at the Suvarna Soudha. That period will be utilised to create awareness programmes and hold sittings in jurisdictional districts, said an official release.
