There is a legal provision for a fine of up to 25,000 rupees to the concerned official or information officer if the information requested is not provided in a timely manner.
What you should know
The trend of giving and hiding information with wrong motives has led to problems in the implementation of the Right to Information. Participants in a training/orientation program on the Right to Information organized in Rampur, the district, on Wednesday said that the lack of awareness among citizens about the right to information is making implementation difficult.
At a program organized by the National Information Commission, Chief Information Commissioner Dr. Suresh Prasad Acharya said that there is a problem due to lack of awareness regarding the right to information at the federal, provincial and local levels and the public bodies set up by them. ‘The tendency to hide information has not decreased,’ he said, ‘The problem is due to lack of readiness in public bodies in protecting information.’ He said that due to weak studies and research on the right to information, the proper use of information technology in public bodies has been reduced.
Information Commissioner Gagan Bista said that there are problems such as not having an information officer, not keeping records of information, not being able to classify information, and not automatically making it public. He said that good governance, transparency and accountability have not been increased due to the failure to raise awareness about the right to information at the citizen level. ‘The tendency to ask for information with wrong intentions is increasing,’ he said, ‘The tendency to ask for information with the intention of causing pain has added challenges to the implementation of the right to information.’
The Information Commission has a system for taking action if the information received is misused. Rampur Municipality Mayor Raman Bahadur Thapa also suggested that the tendency of information seekers to request information for one purpose but use it for another should be discouraged. He said that while requesting information, the application should be submitted with a clear purpose and it would be easier to provide the information that can be provided by law.
According to the law, all information of public concern must be made public, except for information that must be kept confidential, said Suryadarshan Pandit, Chief Administrative Officer of Rampur Municipality. There is a legal provision for a fine of up to 25,000 rupees to the concerned official or information officer if the information requested is not provided in a proper manner.
