How Is the ‘Middleman Ban Campaign’ Being Implemented in Nepal’s Government Offices?

The police have launched a nationwide campaign aimed at eliminating middlemen from government offices. As part of this initiative, the government has issued directive letters to all police offices across the country, instructing them to take necessary action, police Deputy Inspector General Abinayaran Kafle informed. Citizens are advised to lodge complaints at the nearest police station or by dialing 100 if any middlemen attempt to obstruct services in any form. Similarly, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation took a secretarial-level decision on Wednesday to prohibit the entry of middlemen into land survey and revenue offices nationwide and issued respective guidelines. Following the new government’s publication of a 100-point action plan, government agencies have reportedly stepped up concrete efforts to reform administration.

Due to the influence of middlemen at locations such as traffic offices, passport offices, revenue, and surveying offices, service seekers have been facing significant inconvenience. Police officials acknowledge that middlemen at these offices have been illegally collecting fees under the pretense of ‘assisting’ service recipients in areas with heavy foot traffic, including police stations and other government offices. “Therefore, monitoring, arrests, and control measures have been undertaken at these places to initiate legal action,” spokesperson Kafle explained. Alongside police stations, a circular was issued on Wednesday to restrict middlemen’s entry into other service offices and to detain and prosecute those involved.

“We are deploying plainclothes police officers in government offices to discourage these ongoing activities,” Kafle added. The main points of the circular issued by the police headquarters include: installing CCTV cameras at the main gates and surrounding areas of police offices for surveillance; maintaining records of service seekers and preventing middlemen’s access; restricting unnecessary crowding and unauthorized entry in offices handling legal cases. Additionally, the circular calls for a complete ban on non-legal panchayat systems resolving disputes, especially in the Terai-Madhesh region; identification, arrest, and prosecution of middlemen or individuals causing inconvenience in other direct service offices in accordance with the law. “The circular emphasizes providing impartial, transparent, and complaint-free service in accordance with legal methods and procedures,” stated police spokesperson Kafle.