KATHMANDU: National Information Commission (NIC) has submitted its annual report to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at his official residence, Baluwatar, on Sunday.

The annual report of the fiscal year 2014/15 was prepared as provisioned in the section 25 of Right to Information Act, 2008. This is the 7th annual report prepared by the Commission.

According to the report, 777 applications were filed in the last fiscal year at the Commission, among which 765 were settled resulting in a progress rate of 98.45 per cent. This is the highest progress rate ever to be recorded, the Commission claimed.

At the handover function, Chief Information Commissioner Krishna Hari Banskota suggested PM Oli to expand the scope of RTI Act, form NIC provincial committees, formulate the Whistleblower Act and the Privacy Act, separate trust for award in right to information sector, integrate RTI in curriculum.

Receiving the report, PM Oli stated that right to information allows citizens to maintain trust in the government as it helps to avoid irregularity and injustice in official works.

However, he also expressed concerns over the possible misuse of the right to information and urged the citizens to use it for the right purpose.

On the occasion, Information Commissioner Kiran Pokharel stated that the high officials must prioritise RTI while Secretary of the Commission Sharad Raj Bista said that it is everyone’s duty to respect and follow the Constitution and the law.

The report further recommends a five-year policy draft preparation, orientation programmes conducted in 28 districts, development of information gathering from internet.

The report also includes the results of different discussions held between officials of Legislature-Parliament Development Committee, Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) and high government officials.