RISHIRAM KATTEL

Nepal's interim constitution guarantees the right to information to all citizens. However, government and non-government institutions are notorious for denying even the most basic information to the public. In many government offices, the bureaucrats warn people of 'dire consequences' for pursuing sensitive matters or supply incomplete information.

Even the National Information Commission which is responsible for providing necessary information to the public has failed to deliver on its mandate. When a group of people seeking information from various institutions filed a complaint with the commission, the officials passed the buck back to them. Information Commissioner Sabita Baral admits that there is a tendency to withhold information in the bureaucratic circles and blames it on the change-resistant mentality of the officials.

A few months ago Mahendra Bhattarai, a student at Koteswor Multiple Campus was arrested on false charges for demanding financial information from the campus administration. Bhattarai, later filed a complaint at the commission seeking information, but the campus authorities defied the commission's directive to disclose information, following which campus chief Govinda Bahadur Karki was summoned by the commission. But Karki has so far refused to provide information to Bhattarai has not responded to the summon. Similarly, Dolakha's Education Officer Shiva Kumar Sapkota filed a case against a local journalist demanding information about the procurement of laptops and books for local schools. Sapkota has alleged that he was verbally abused by the journalist.

Giving in to pressure from journalists and members of civil society, the legislature parliament passed the Right to Information bill in 2007. Five years later, the struggle to access information is still on.