Senior journo Acharya recommended for Chief Information Commissioner

Kathmandu, November 4 — The name of Dr. Suresh Acharya, former president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), has been recommended for the position of Chief Information Commissioner of the National Information Commission.

Names recommended for member positions include Gagan Bista, Secretary of the Publicity Department of the CPN-UML, and Durga Bhandari.

A member of the recommendation committee informed Ratopati that the committee met on Monday to recommend the names of the Chief Information Commissioner and other commissioners.

Earlier, the secretariat of the recommendation committee issued a notice calling for applications. 

According to the Right to Information Act of 2007, qualified individuals were invited to submit their personal details along with certified copies of their qualifications to the secretariat of the recommendation committee formed for the National Information Commission.

Candidates for the positions of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner must have at least a bachelor's degree from a recognized university, a minimum of 15 years of experience in fields such as media, law, public administration, information technology, or management, and must not exceed the age of 65. They must also meet the eligibility criteria as per Section 13 of the Right to Information Act.

Applications were asked to be submitted by October 30 during office hours, and interested candidates were required to present certified copies of their qualifications.

The positions will become vacant as the five-year terms of Chief Information Commissioner Mahendra Man Gurung and Information Commissioners Kamala Oli and Ratna Prasad Mainali are nearing completion. In accordance with Section 11, Subsection 3 of the Act, the recommendation committee decided to invite applications from qualified and suitable candidates for these vacancies.

As per Section 11, Subsection 3 of the Act, a three-member recommendation committee, chaired by Speaker Devraj Ghimire, is responsible for recommending candidates for the positions of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners. The committee includes Minister of Information and Communication Prithvi Subba Gurung and Bala Adhikari, acting president of the FNJ.