KATHMANDU: The National Information Commission (NIC) has appealed to all the public agencies for effective implementation of the Right to Information (RTI).
For effective implementation of constitutionally-guaranteed citizens’ right to information, the NIC has decided to request federal level public agencies through chief secretary of Nepal government.
Likewise, chief secretaries of all province governments would be asked to oversee the RTI implementation at province level while secretary of Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA) would be requested for its effective enforcement at local level.
Making public the decisions of the NIC meeting today, the information watchdog body said that it has decided to gradually ensure inclusive and effective participation of all groups and communities while selecting participants at the programmes to be implemented at local levels.
NIC Commissioner and spokesperson Kamala Oli Thapa shared that the NIC has decided to instruct all public agencies to mandatorily plan programme and budget on right to information, manage adequate budget for legally-binding proactive disclosure of information and organize training and orientation and provide logistic support to public information officers designated in public agencies.
The NIC has also decided to request the public agencies to set up an information desk and waiting room for the convenience of information requesters.
Spokesperson Thapa further hared that the NIC has directed the director-general of Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) to adequately publish awareness raising materials clearly reflecting the roles and responsibilities of the citizens and enumerators’ obligation and ensure its outreach to the public about the national census as per the Clause 19 (Section C, F and G) of the RTI Act-2063 BS.
The NIC has also directed seven public agencies to furnish response in writing within seven days in the month of Poush (mid-December to mid-January).
It has also directed four public agencies to provide with information requested by the citizens within seven days.
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