Service seekers in dark about time, service charges at govt offices
A considerable number of service seekers in the government offices in Gulmi and Salyan are unaware of the time taken and charges to be paid to get government services, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Vigilance Centre.
A considerable number of service seekers in the government offices in Gulmi and Salyan are unaware of the time taken and charges to be paid to get government services, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Vigilance Centre.
Among 100 service seekers who participated in the survey, nearly half of them expressed that they were unaware of how long it takes to receive the government services. The NVC mobilises teams annually to conduct such survey in around a dozen districts.
This year, the centre is conducting the survey in 14 districts.
According to the survey, 47 percent of the service seekers interviewed in Gulmi said they were unaware of the time taken to get services, while 47 percent of respondents in Salyan came with the same answer.
Likewise, 49 percent service seekers in Salyan said that they were unaware of charges to be paid for the services. Although the information about the time and service charges is mentioned in the Citizen Charter placed on the notice board in the government offices, many remain unaware of that.
The Citizen Charter is a notice which represents a systematic effort to focus on the commitment of the government offices towards its citizens in respects of standard of services, information, grievance redress, among other things.
In Gulmi, 47 percent responded that they were ignorant about the Citizen Charter. Public knowledge about it is much poorer in Salyan where as much as 86 percent said they were unaware of it.
“People are not aware about the Citizen Charter because the government offices don’t try to notify the service seekers about it. Consequently, many service seekers end up taking help of ‘middlemen’ to get their works done,” said Bishnuraj Lamichhane, spokesperson for the NVC.
People have the right to get information about the issues of public importance from the government offices under the Right to Information Act.
Most service seekers in Gulmi and Salyan are oblivious about the right to information. According to the survey, 47 percent service seekers in Gulmi were unaware of it, while it was 80 percent in Salyan.
Service seekers also complained that they had to bribe officials for services. In Gulmi, 12 percent service seeker said they had to bribe officials to get their work done while 6 percent in Salyan came up with that response.
Although the government offices have units for redressing grievances, many service seekers in both the districts preferred not to register complaints.
According to the survey, 62 percent of respondents in Gulmi and 80 percent in Salyan said they did not complain despite being denied services.
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