Sudurpashchim ministries without official websites, rely on notice boards

Dhangadhi, November 7 — Most ministries of the Sudurpashchim Province government have limited their information to notice boards and minute registers within their offices. Despite the world going digital, the ministries in Sudurpashchim have reverted to using traditional notice boards and minute registers.

With the closure of provincial government websites, the general public has struggled to access necessary information. Without functioning ministry websites, the public has become disconnected from updates on government activities.

The Chief Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Economic Affairs have updated their old websites. The Provincial Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture, and Cooperatives, as well as the Provincial Assembly Secretariat, have created new websites.

However, the official websites of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, Ministry of Social Development, and Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests, and Environment are still unavailable. These four ministries have been without websites for the past five months.

In addition to the provincial ministries, other subordinate offices also lack official websites. Offices such as the Provincial Financial Comptroller's Office, the Office of the Chief Attorney, and the Provincial Planning Commission have not updated their websites.

Due to the lack of websites, the only way for the public to access information is by visiting the physical notice boards at government offices.

No public announcement of transfers

On October 30, all ministries, except the Ministry of Economic Affairs, carried out transfers of government employees. As per the standard procedure, the details of these transfers should have been published on the official ministry websites as soon as the decisions were approved.

However, the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, and the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture, and Cooperatives failed to make the transfer details available online. The Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests, and Environment posted transfer information on the Chief Minister's Office and Council of Ministers’ website. Other ministries have yet to disclose transfer decisions.

What does Chief Minister Shah say?

Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah expressed concern over the lack of official websites, which serve as a primary means of information dissemination. He stated that he had discussed the matter with the relevant ministry ministers and secretaries, and claimed to have already given instructions for the updating of the websites.

Previously, the websites for the Sudurpashchim government and all its ministries were developed and provided by the LGS program, operated by UNDP. However, those websites were repeatedly hacked due to the lack of security locks.

Information Officer at the Chief Minister’s Office, Jagadish Joshi, mentioned that the Ministry of Information and Technology is responsible for hosting government websites, and they have been in correspondence regarding the registration of new websites. However, he stated that they are unsure when the websites will come into operations.