There are not even 40 days left for the election. With candidacies registered across the country in a harmonious environment, there is no need to doubt that the election will be held on 21 Falgun. Now, the feeling that a country can and should be built has awakened in everyone's mind. There is a rush to build a country and bring good governance to everyone.

However, the reality that should not be forgotten is that without reforming the bureaucracy, which is said to be the permanent power of the country, there is a fear that this good governance will be limited to just a rattan. It is not that the existing structure will suddenly change just by changing the characters. The party seeking to form the government through elections will have to make major reforms by taking the employees into confidence. This article attempts to discuss this issue. 

The bureaucracy of the country has helped us in every situation. The role of the bureaucracy was also significant in the army being able to calm the situation from the night of the 24th. Otherwise, the leaders would have been hiding in the barracks. In the bureaucracy, we should look at not only civil servants but also employees of security agencies and employees of organized organizations.

Political conduct and corrupt character are responsible for the increase in citizen's discontent with the state, but the bureaucracy is also equally responsible. There is no hesitation in saying this. The Congress-UML government, which was ousted by the Gen-G movement, was strong, but it did not dare to change the bureaucracy. Nor could it pass important bills like the civil service bill, which had been stalled for so many years. Instead, the politics of arrogance and blame and the tendency to not listen to the feelings of the youth ended on its own. 

Some statistics and representative examples 

Nepal was ranked 104th with a score of 34 in the 2025 report of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Similarly, it was ranked 72nd out of 143 countries in the 2025 survey on the rule of law. The unpublished study report of the judiciary, formed under the leadership of Supreme Court Justice Harikrishna Karki, pointed out that corruption begins in the courts from the very appointment of judges. Similarly, irregularities in the judicial process, weaknesses in investigation and prosecution, and the conduct of legal practitioners were cited as the main reasons for corruption and inconsistencies in the judiciary. Based on this report, we should not be afraid to say that the country's judiciary is corrupt. 

A year ago, there was news that MP Birendra Mahato had to bribe a branch officer of the National Examination Board to certify the equivalence of his son's certificate. He had said this in Parliament. Sometimes, in the name of getting work done, public servants pretend to spend money on tea, and sometimes, due to the practice of making service recipients suffer even for small tasks, there has now been a situation where even those who wear blue coats as employees are not respected. Employees working in security agencies have their own problems. Nowadays, more and more people are leaving the country because they are not satisfied with their salaries.

Another example, this columnist was recently at the Nepal Bar Council to get an advocate's license certificate and training. Even the instructor there had openly exposed the fact that corruption occurs in the court. In fact, this columnist himself was forced to pay bribes when he went to the court from time to time for work and writs.

Some time ago, I went to the Udayapur administration office with the Supreme Court's order to get justice for a sister who was struggling to obtain citizenship. We, as advocates, should not have much work there, but even after the order, the administration's lack of hope that the sister, who is 24 years old, will easily get citizenship in her father's name is an example of the erosion of citizens' trust in government services. Despite many struggles even after the Supreme Court's order, we managed to get the sister's citizenship in a week by visiting the ward office and the administration office, but the sister's two brothers and her sister still had not obtained citizenship.

However, why did the situation arise that the service recipient had to file a writ petition saying that she had not obtained citizenship by tormenting the people by depriving them of citizenship? It is also necessary to understand that it is due to the immaturity of the bureaucracy.

We still have to set aside a day to pay taxes and revenue, renew licenses, and do things like citizenship. Even then, work does not get done. It would be much easier if the tax payment was made online, eliminating the hassle of waiting in line for service recipients, and becoming less process-oriented. Here are some examples of bureaucracy.

Government service, i.e. the bridge between the people and the government?

Government service is the relationship-bridge that connects the people with the government. Only if the people are happy with government work will the people understand that the taxes they have paid have been put to good use. Good governance, i.e. good governance, is not just about making laws good. It should also be able to show that there is a state. Isn't the relationship between citizens and the government visible from government offices?

In Japan, the employees are strong. The law is strictly followed and they follow the rules. Therefore, political instability has not weakened Japan. Even if our employees are strong, their working style and behavior are annoying. They emphasize procedural matters but not results. The former Chief Secretary tried to come up with a concrete plan on how to connect the youth with government bodies, but it failed. It is better to have paid interns who have graduated from government offices. 

Now, the general public understands that employees are corrupt. Therefore, there is a practice of encouraging them to do and get various illegal things done in the sense that they will do whatever they want after paying. Government work seems even more uncomfortable for the youth. On the one hand, they are teased for not being able to write an application, on the other hand, the government office has failed to communicate information about which government work to do, how to write an application, what to do, what to do, and how much evidence to collect.

It should be understood that the youth took the Gen-G rebellion as the reason why our taxes were misused and where it was used. Employees should learn to be hospitable and treat service recipients well. Being a public servant does not mean that we should be treated as the supreme authority. The facilities provided by the state to employees are not enough, but the responsibility of increasing the state's capacity to provide facilities also lies with a capable and mature bureaucracy. It is not that the state has not invested in our employees, it seems that the state has done everything it can in terms of services and facilities, from sending them on study leave to providing them with services. Even here, we see news that the deputy secretary went on a tour in Nasu's quota.