State mechanisms should provide information without any fear: Acharya

Sudurpaschim, April 1: Chief Commissioner of the National Information Commission, Dr Suresh Prasad Acharya, has said state mechanisms should not fear to enforce citizens’ right to information.

At an interaction organized by the Commission at Dhangadhi on Tuesday, he said that it would help the country’s prosperity and good governance if information could be disseminated easily. “No one should commit negligence in providing information as per the laws related to the right to information.

State mechanisms must be serious for their use”, he mentioned. Similarly, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Law of Sudurpaschim Province, Hira Sarki, expressed the view that the right to information is very important for the working class, adding that those working honestly should not be afraid to provide information.

Commission Secretary Dirgha Raj Mainali shed light on the role played by the Commission for the implementation of the right to information while Secretary at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers of Sudurpaschim Province, Bikas Koirala, discussed the policy-level arrangements of province government for the implementation of RTI.

Likewise, the Chief District Officer of Kailali, Gogan Bahadur Hamal, Commissioner Gagan Bista, and Sudurpaschim Province President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, Bharat Shah, among others stressed the need to increase easy access to information.

A total of 81 complaints were filed in the last fiscal year for being denied information in Sudurpaschim province. Of them, most of them were related to the local bodies.