Rahul Pande takes oath as Maharashtra Chief Information Commissioner

In the oath-taking ceremony, the Governor also administered the oath of office to three State Information Commissioners – Ravindra Thakre, Prakash Indalkar and Gajanan Nimdev.

Earlier, Secretary to the Governor Dr. Prashant Narnaware read out the notification of appointment of the State Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioners.

The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, MLC Parinay Phuke, Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Brijesh Singh, senior journalists, and other dignitaries.

Maharashtra was without a Chief Information Commissioner since April 2023 when former Sumit Mullick, who was holding the post, retired.

Rahul Pande’s appointment will be for a three-year term, during which he will be tasked to enforce the Right to Information Act (RTI) in Maharashtra. Fifty one-year-old Pande, who hails from Nagpur, has served as the Information Commissioner for the Nagpur division from October 2021 to 2024. He was also entrusted with additional charge of the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Amravati divisions.

While Gajanan Nimdev currently serves as the editor of Nagpur Tarun Bharat, Ravindra Thakare, an IAS officer of 2010 batch, was previously posted as Additional Tribal Commissioner at ATC Nagpur. Prakash Indalkar is a retired Deputy Secretary from the state administrative services.

Congratulating the new information commissioners, Fadnavis wrote on X, “Wishing all the dignitaries the very best in their role to uphold the Right to Information and empower citizens through transparency… These appointments come at a time when the demand for administrative transparency and public access to information continues to be a cornerstone of good governance in the state.”