NEW DELHI: Moving closer to constitution of the anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal, the Centre on Thursday announced an eight-member search committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, to recommend names for posts of the Lokpal chairperson and members.The appointment of the search committee puts on track the much-delayed rollout of the watchdog mechanism, given that the Lokpal and Lokyauktas legislation was enacted way back in 2014. "The selection process of Lokpal is under way as per guidelines laid down in the Lokpal Act,” Union minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh told TOI on Thursday.The decision to set up the Lokpal search committee — with former Allahabad high court judge Justice Sakha Ram Singh Yadav, former solicitor general Ranjit Kumar, former Gujarat police chief Shabbirhusein S Khandwawala, retired IAS officer Lalit K Panwar, former SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya , former Isro head A S Kiran Kumar and Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash as members — was finalised by the Lokpal selection committee headed by the PM even as leader of the single largest opposition party, Mallikarjun Kharge , declined to attend its meetings as a ‘special invitee’.Though Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a member of the Lokpal selection committee, Congress does not have the required strength in the Lok Sabha to claim the post. The government had, in a bid to ensure representation of the opposition’s voice in deliberations of the selection committee, requested Kharge to attend as a special invitee. Miffed at not being included as a full-fledged member of the selection committee, Kharge declined the invite at least on six occasions-- March 1, April 10, July 19, August 21, September 4 and September 19.The search committee will start functioning soon, said a senior government functionary. While the search committee will recommend names for Lokpal chairperson and members, the selection panel can also consider names other than those recommended by the panel.As per the Lokpal Act, a search committee was required to consist of at least seven persons of standing and having “special knowledge and expertise in matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, policy-making, finance, including insurance and banking, law and management or in any other matter which, in the opinion of the selection committee, may be useful in making the selection of the chairperson and members of the Lokpal”.No less than 50% of the members of search committee were to be from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other backward Classes, minorities and women.