When journalist Rimon Rahman sought information about an under-construction Public Works Department-2 project in Rajshahi, officials did not answer his questions.
Instead, they directed him to file a request under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The reporter, who works for a Dhaka-based daily, was investigating allegations surrounding the purchase of a sewage treatment plant for the project.
According to Rimon, the plant was supposed to be imported from Dubai but was brought from India. Official documents also showed that while the project required a 300 KLD (Kilolitres per Day) plant, one with a capacity of 240 KLD was purchased.
“They had all the information. They could have easily given me an interview. But since they did not want to provide it, I filed an RTI application,” Rimon told TIMES.
“More than a month has passed, but I still have not received the information.”
The issue has drawn renewed attention as the International Day for Universal Access to Information is being observed globally.
Introduced in 2009, the RTI Act was designed to make public information more accessible. Under the law, authorities must provide general information within 20 working days. If information needs to be collected from another office, the deadline can be extended to 30 working days.
But journalists and rights activists say government offices are increasingly using the process as a delay tactic rather than as a tool for transparency.
“Earlier, information was easier to obtain. Now even minor issues are referred to the RTI process. When information relates to irregularities, officials often do not want to provide it,” Rimon said.
“The question is, should I file an application and wait for a month over a small issue? By then, the news may lose its relevance.”
The problem extends beyond individual information requests.
Questions over transparency have also emerged around major state decisions.
Bangladesh signed agreements to purchase 25 Boeing aircraft from the United States in two phases. Details of both deals were disclosed by US authorities rather than by Bangladesh.
Similarly, Dhaka has not publicly disclosed the terms of the trade agreement signed with the United States towards the end of the interim government’s tenure. Information about the deal became available through US government disclosures.
Independent MP Rumeen Farhana sought a parliamentary discussion on the agreement, but the proposal did not receive government backing.
Following changes in power, important information has also disappeared from government websites.
After the political changeover on 5 August 2024, annual reports and other documents of around 25 ministries and divisions from the Awami League government period were removed from official websites. Later, several documents from the interim government period also became unavailable after the BNP came to power.
Information on government officials has also been removed from the Ministry of Public Administration website, including names and identification numbers. As a result, details of contractual appointments, officers placed on special duty (OSD) and officials receiving salaries without assigned responsibilities are no longer publicly available.
The Information Commission has remained inactive since the political changeover on 5 August 2024.
The interim government introduced the Right to Information (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, but the BNP government did not approve it. The country has since returned to the 2009 law, while the commission remains without new appointments.
On 11 June, the government reconstituted a five-member search committee to recommend appointments of the chief information commissioner and information commissioners. No further progress has been announced.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said the prolonged vacancy had weakened the country’s transparency mechanism.
“By failing to form the Information Commission for two years and two months despite legal obligations, the two successive governments that have held power in Bangladesh have created an embarrassing and rare global record,” he told TIMES.
He said the absence of the commission reflected a wider problem with accountability and access to information.
“By keeping the Information Commission inactive for seven months, the government is sending a message that it prefers a culture of secrecy over openness of information,” he said.
Officials at the Information Commission said around 850 RTI applications had accumulated over the past two years.
“We cannot say when the commission will be formed,” Information Commission Assistant Director Liton Kumar Pramanik told TIMES.
Ruhi Naz, deputy director of Research Initiatives Bangladesh, said keeping the commission inactive contradicted the government’s stated reform agenda.
“If the government has no tendency to hide information, I do not see any reason why the commission has remained vacant for so long. The country does not lack qualified people,” she said.
Information Minister Andaleeve Rahman did not respond to calls and text messages seeking comments on when the commission would be formed.
For journalists investigating corruption and irregularities, using the RTI law often comes with additional pressure, Rimon said.
“Most of the RTI applications I have filed were related to irregularities and corruption. After that, pressure, lobbying and smear campaigns began,” he said.
He recalled that after submitting an application to a Public Works Department executive engineer, he received a phone call from the upazila BNP president.
Later, a contractor offered him two works, saying he could sell them after receiving the contracts.
“After that, whenever journalists visited the executive engineer, he would say, ‘Rimon Rahman is harassing me’,” he said.
The information eventually provided was of little use, Rimon added.
“I will appeal,” he said.
