KATHMANDU, JULY 1
The National Information Commission has penalised Baiju Thakur, chief administrative officer of Rajpur Municipality in Rautahat, with a fine of Rs 10,000 pursuant to Section 32 (1) of the Right to Information Act, 2007, for denying information of public concern to an information-seeker.
As per the act, if the NIC finds that chief of public body or official concerned has held back information without valid reason, refused to give information or provided partial or wrong information or destroyed information; it may impose a fine ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 25,000 on such official depending on the gravity of the case. A press release issued by the NIC today said that its bench comprising commissioners duo Kamala Oli Thapa and Ratna Prasad Mainali had decided to penalise Thakur on Monday, while directing him to provide information as sought by petitioner Ekamul Haq of Rautahat.
According to the NIC, Haq had sought information and details related to expenditure made in nine wards of the municipality during the COV- ID-19 pandemic. The information he sought include the total number of persons kept in quarantine, expenditure per person for that purpose, number of blanket distributed and per unit cost of the blanket, among others. "Haq was compelled to move the NIC even after fulfilling all requirements to be eligible for obtaining information requesting information of public concern as per the constitution and Section 3 (1) of the act," it informed.
After Thakur refused to provide information, Thakur moved the NIC. In response, the NIC asked Thakur for a clarification as to why Haq was denied his right to information and ordered him to provide information. However, he did not respond to that.
"Thakur demonstrated irresponsible conduct despite repeated warnings, prompting the NIC to penalise him," NIC said.
It informed that Thakur seemed to be escaping from the obligation and duty to provide information. Earlier, the NIC stressed the need to implement the legal and constitutional provisions on right to information of citizens. Th existing law stipulates the provision of an information officer in each government body for dissemination of information.
In the absence of information officer, the office in-charge will be responsible for providing information. The constitution has also recognised the right of citizens to demand and obtain information held by public bodies on any matter of public importance.
Earlier, the NIC had issued an 11-point directive to the newly-elected mayors/ chairpersons of all local levels regarding compliance with the law, and financial transparency.
It will require the local levels to disclose their statement of income and expenditure on a monthly basis. According to the NIC, the local levels will also be responsible to make provisions for public dissemination of progress report of the approved budget and programme, disclose information related to remuneration and facilities provided to elected representatives and employees, and submit their property details to the bodies concerned within the stipulated time.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 2, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
