Information Commission seeks to regain momentum after 2 years of inactivity

After nearly two years of inactivity, the Information Commission is trying to resume its operations. Following the appointment of a chief information commissioner and two other information commissioners, hearings to resolve around 950 pending complaints are set to begin this month.

The commission is also planning several initiatives, including information fairs, to raise public awareness about the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The new commission is also working to set its priorities for the first 100 days.

However, the commission is facing a staff shortage. This has raised questions about how far it will be able to advance these initiatives with its limited workforce. It also faces several other challenges.

Following the July 2024 mass uprising, the then commission's members resigned or were removed. No new commission was formed during the interim government. Eight months after the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) came to power, a new commission was formed on 17 October.

Jahangirnagar University professor Nahrin Islam Khan was appointed chief information commissioner. The other two information commissioners are journalist SAM Mahfuzur Rahman and Khan Mohammad Abul Hossain.

According to sources at the Information Commission, around 950 complaints have accumulated because the commission remained inactive for an extended period. Hearings to resolve these complaints will begin on 16 November. In addition, information fairs will be organised at the university level in December.

The initial plan includes Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Jagannath University, North South University, BRAC University and Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).

The fairs will be held on separate days at these six public and private universities. The objective is to make students and teachers aware of the Right to Information Act. There will be stalls on various subjects, which will be operated by the respective private educational institutions.

Asked about the initiatives, Information Commissioner SAM Mahfuzur Rahman told Prothom Alo that they were holding meetings with stakeholders and preparing to begin hearings to resolve complaints. The relevant committees were also being reactivated.

He further said the Right to Information Act was very good, but people were still not properly aware of it. Therefore, the commission was placing emphasis on public awareness. Information fairs were also being planned to promote awareness. At the same time, the commission was focusing on strengthening its institutional capacity.

Under the Right to Information Act 2009, citizens have the right to obtain information held by various government and private authorities. If an individual or organisation does not receive requested information within the stipulated timeframe, receives incomplete or misleading information, or does not get a satisfactory response to an application, they can file a complaint with the Information Commission.

However, as the commission remained inactive for nearly two years, complaints from citizens who sought legal recourse to obtain information have also been awaiting resolution. This has raised questions about the effectiveness of the Right to Information Act.

Citizens have the right to obtain necessary information from various government offices. The Right to Information Act was enacted in 2009 to ensure this right. The Information Commission was established under the law.

However, more than 16 years after the law was enacted, questions remain about how effectively the commission has been able to ensure citizens' right to information in practice.

According to commission data, around 167,000 applications seeking information were submitted between its establishment and December 2024.

A commission official said applicants received information in response to around 95 per cent of these applications. The remaining applicants, who did not receive the requested information, filed complaints with the commission.

According to relevant sources, a total of 5,804 complaints were filed between 2009 and 2023. Of these, 55.7 per cent were accepted for hearings. Many applications are not accepted for hearings because complaints are not filed in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law.

A review of complaint data for 2023 shows that the Information Commission accepted 324 complaints for hearings that year. Of the complainants, 198 were ordinary citizens, 120 were journalists and the rest were from other professions.

Of the complaints, 282 were against government offices. These included ministries or divisions, headquarters of government departments or agencies, divisional offices, city corporations, directorates, district and upazila offices, offices of upazila nirbahi officers, banks and financial institutions, municipalities, union councils, educational institutions and land offices. The remaining 42 complaints were against private organisations.

After hearing a complaint, the Information Commission can order compensation, depending on the gravity of the offence, if it finds a designated officer guilty. In addition to imposing fines, the commission can, in certain cases, treat the failure to provide information as misconduct and recommend departmental disciplinary action to the relevant authority.

According to commission sources, between 2011 and 2023, orders were issued for compensation, fines or departmental disciplinary action against 96 designated officers. However, details are not available on how many of these officers actually paid fines or in how many cases departmental action was taken.

The Information Commission's headquarters is housed in a modern building in Agargaon, Dhaka. However, a major obstacle to its operations is the shortage of human resources.

An official of the commission told Prothom Alo last Sunday that the commission has 68 approved positions. At present, only 27 people, including the chief information commissioner and two information commissioners, are working there.

According to the official, the commission will need to recruit adequate staff to operate more actively.

The extent to which the staff shortage will affect complaint resolution, hearings, public awareness campaigns on the Right to Information Act, training and field-level activities is also an important concern.

The objective of the Right to Information Act is to establish transparency and accountability in the activities of government and certain private organisations.

However, there are complaints that people often fail to receive information within the stipulated timeframe even after submitting applications, receive incomplete information or are denied access to information.

Experts have emphasised the need for the commission to play a more effective role in addressing these problems. They believe that although the new commission has started working after the prolonged inactivity, it faces several challenges ahead.

Alongside clearing the backlog of complaints, it will have to ensure the swift resolution of new complaints, address the staff shortage and raise public awareness — all at the same time.

Rizwan-ul-Alam, associate professor of the Department of Media, Communication and Journalism at North South University, told Prothom Alo that the Information Commission needed to focus on two areas at this point.

First, he said, it should identify the areas in which Bangladesh is lagging behind in international indices and give those areas special attention. Second, an expert committee should be formed quickly to determine the commission's future course of action.