KATHMANDU – Chairperson of National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina has urged the bodies concerned to make correction if they were slow off the mark to implement the right to information. Chairperson Timilsina said it during a programme organized to observe the International Day of Universal Access to Information in the federal capital today.
At the programme organized by the National Information Commission (NIC), Chairperson Timilsina viewed, “Enforcement of RTI is linked to democracy and good governance, so both demand and supply sides of information need to be aware and active.”
Both the citizens and all levels of government’s additional awareness is required, he said, adding that true enforcement of RTI Act is for curbing corruption and maintaining good governance. Similarly, Vice Chairperson at the National Planning Commission, Dr Bishwonath Poudel, said if the citizens were deprived of right information, the service provided by the State could be misused. “RTI is the essential element of good governance. Implementation of RTI denotes whether State resources were used wisely.”
NIC Chairperson Mahendra Man Gurung viewed all three layers of the government and State bodies must not hesitate to ensure good governance, reduce corruption and empower citizens. “The rising number of complaints at NIC on activities of local levels also denotes that citizens were becoming aware and system getting democratic,” he observed.
Secretary at Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Dr Baikuntha Aryal, shared that the Ministry was doing homework to ensure effective implementation of RTI. “RTI is inseparable element of democracy. It builds open society,” said President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists.
Best RTI Officers were honoured at the programme. They were Dayaram Tiwari (Muslim Commission), Suraj Kumar Bhujel (Thaha Municipality), Rajesh Chaudhari (District Post Office, Taplejung) and Saroj Khatiwada (District Post Office, Khotang). They were provided cash prizes and letters of certificates.
Similarly, RTI campaigners awarded at the programmes were Ajay Kumar Saha (Udayapur), Dr Munna Kumar Mishra (Bara), Shailendra Kumar Mahato (Dhanusha), Ishwori Tiwari (Jhapa) and Ram Pukar Rauniyar (Parsa). They were given the ‘Binay Kasajoo Best RTI Campaigner Award’.
