Kathmandu, November 14

Hello Sarkar, a grievance-hearing mechanism of the government, has settled as many as 36,610 complaints since the hotline was set up in November 2011.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, 36,610 out of 39,063 complaints registered with the mechanism were resolved. Most of the complaints lodged with Hello Sarkar in recent times are related to shortage of fuel and cooking gas, black marketing, embezzlement in relief distribution to earthquake survivors, load-shedding, irregular drinking water supply, corruption, foreign employment fraud, corruption etc.

The Ministry of Home Affairs topped the grievance redressal chart by settling 7,037 complaints, followed by the Ministry of Education (4,569), Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (3,063), Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (2,626), Nepal Electricity Authority (1,920) and Ministry of Finance (1,644) in the last five years.

Hello Sarkar resolved 2,151 cases on its own and forwarded others to the concerned agencies. The OPMCM refers complaints to 33 central level agencies for necessary action.

According to Hello Sarkar, it settled 248 out of 450 cases in the month of Asoj (mid-September to mid-August).

The Ministry of Agricultural Development, Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of General Administration and National Vigilance Centre have settled cent per cent cases in Asoj.

Recently, Hello Sarkar has joined Facebook with the aim of receiving public grievances online. It receives complaints via Facebook and hotline (1111). Hello Sarkar settled 34 out of 68 cases it received through Facebook in Asoj.

The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Ministry of Defence, Tribhuvan University and Secretariat of National Planning Commission failed to settle even a single complaint.

The OPMCM has directed these agencies to improve their performance.

Earlier, the OPMCM had instructed government agencies to achieve at least 90 per cent success rate in addressing the complaints. Those failing to settle at least 90 per cent of the complaints have been directed to act on public grievances more seriously and effectively.