Special Vidhan Sabha session on new lok ayukta Bill today

CM Vijay Bahuguna had said that the office of the new lok ayukta will start functioning within the next six months. However, the CM made it clear that high court judges will not come under ambit of the new lok ayukta

A special session of the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha begins here on Monday to pass the new Lok Ayukta bill, modeled on the Lok Pal Bill passed by Parliament. If passed, the new Bill will repeal the Lok Ayukta Act enacted by the erstwhile BJP regime.

However, the Bharatiiya Jananata Party (BJP) has criticised the move and has asked the government to explain why ii wants to repeal the lok ayukta Act despite getting the assent from President Pranab Mukherjee. "We believe this a tactic to delay the implementation of lok ayukta passed by our government, which in turn will also delay the fight against corruption," said leader of the opposition Ajay Bhatt.

Under the new Bill, the Lok Ayukta will be headed by a retired high court judge and will have five members. The post of the chief minister has been brought under the ambit of the Lok Ayukta. One member of the Lok Ayukta will be reserved for woman. Another member will be from the SC/ST/minorities groups.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had said that the office of the new Lok Ayukta will start functioning within the next six months. However, the CM made it clear that high court judges will not come under ambit of the new Lok Ayukta.

President Mukherjee, in September, had given his assent to the Uttarakhand Lok Ayukta Act. But the government decided not to implement it describing the act as "unconstitutional".

Meanwhile, the government has also approved the Right to Services Act in the state. If the services are not provided within stipulated period, a complaint can be lodged.

A commission will be constituted to file petitions on such complaints.

Now onwards, an appeal can be made if the services are not provided within 60 days, top government officials said.