NIC asks NOC to keep records

KATHMANDU, SEP 28: 

National Information Commission (NIC) has directed Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to keep a record of every transaction in the days ahead.

Giving its final verdict regarding the case filed by Freedom Forum after the corporation failed to produce documents sought by the forum, the commission said that public entities are not obliged to produce documents that have not been kept in their archives in the past. 

Right to Information Act has mentioned that public agencies must provide documents if they have a record of them, its verdict said. The commission gave this verdict after NOC claimed that it has not kept any record of its transactions in the past. 

The forum had approached the commission after Nepal Oil Corporation failed to provide all the documents that it had sought. It had sought a detailed transaction record of fuel for the last five years, details of coupons distributed, and a detailed account of the imported volume of fuel and its losses. NOC had, however, provided incomplete documents. 

The verdict shows how poor public entities are in keeping records and data, said chairperson of the forum Taranath Dahal, adding that the decision will fuel the trend of hiding documents of public importance.

The positive aspect of the decision is that it has strictly directed the corporation to maintain records in the future, he added. 

The verdict has also directed NOC to make public its transaction details every month.

Source: THT