Sudurpaschim Province Internal Affairs and Law Minister Hira Sarki has said that access to information has not reached common citizens. Addressing the state-level interaction program on the right to information, he said that common citizens are still deprived of information.
'Information is something that the common people should receive. Farmers should get every information about agriculture. A person who is connected with any profession It is his right to get information about it. But we are not able to provide information easily to the common citizens,' Minister Sarki said 'Correct information flow is the practice of good governance.'
The Chief Information Commissioner of the National Information Commission, Suresh Acharya, said that there are strict legal provisions to ensure that the right to information is not enforced. told Every office must update the information every three months. 20 years old information should also be updated. Information Officer If the information is not given, the head of the office should give it, otherwise both will be punished.'
According to him, there is a legal provision that officials who do not provide information can be fined from 1,000 to 25,000. 'Information is a matter of coordination, it cannot be hidden. The law does not give immunity to anyone,' he warned.
Bharat Sah, the president of Nepal Journalist Federation, Sudurpaschim Province, complained that it is becoming more and more difficult to get information from government agencies. He said that the problem is that information officers do not have information when they ask for information. 'When you go to ask for information, all the information of the office is not with the information officer. When we ask for information, they shy away saying they will ask the boss or others. Such activities need to be corrected.' Complaining that journalists are reluctant to request information, 'We ask for information to inform the public, but we are not given information. This trend should be improved,' he added.
Chief District Officer of Kailali Gogan Kumar Hamal admitted that there is a problem in implementing the right to information. The efforts made by the Information Commission are commendable. However, even though there are laws and structures in place, information has not been able to flow as expected,' he said. He mentioned that when Hamal asks for information from the local government, there are many complaints that are not received.
Similarly, State Election Officer Premraj Bhatt on behalf of Election Office Kailali said that government offices tend not to update their websites. Some offices don't even have websites. Therefore, they should be compulsorily updated,” he suggested. The participants emphasized that the government agencies should be made more transparent in order to implement the right to information effectively.
