KATHMANDU, Aug 20: Kumar Ben, chief adviser to Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen), has himself been found conducting a surprise inspection at a government office. When Ben arrived at the office, 14 of its 55 employees were absent. The head of the office was also among those absent.
Ben visited the Land Revenue Office in Lagankhel, Lalitpur, as a service seeker for a surprise inspection after 9 am on August 4. His residence is located nearby.
Ben stayed at the office for some time. During his stay, 14 employees, including office chief Chabilal Nepali, did not arrive. As part of the inspection, he visited various rooms, including the office chief’s chamber, but found most of them empty. He also recorded a video showing the vacant rooms.
Ben immediately sent the 12-second video to Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration Pratibha Rawal. The video clearly shows that service seekers had arrived at the office, while only a small number of employees were present.
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During the surprise inspection, Ben did not reveal his identity and left after staying there for a short while.
Office chief Nepali said he was on his way to the office when Ben arrived. “I had already reached Lagankhel. I reached the office shortly afterward. I usually reach the office on time,” he said.
He claimed that services at his office were running regularly and had not been disrupted. “We have not allowed any decline in service delivery. We have made service delivery more effective. We have not caused any inconvenience to service seekers.” He said 14 employees, including himself, were on leave on the day Prime Minister’s chief adviser Ben visited the office.
According to sources at the Land Management Ministry, after receiving the video from Ben, the ministry immediately forwarded it to the National Vigilance Centre (NVC) and requested action against the employees who were absent from the office.
Following the ministry’s request, the NVC has sought explanations from the absent employees. Nepali confirmed that the centre had sought explanations from him and the other employees who were absent.
According to the Centre, its officials conducted monitoring, surprise inspections and surveillance at 1,577 government offices during fiscal year 2025/26. During those inspections, 9,697 employees were found to have failed to comply with official working hours.
Similarly, 1,404 employees were found not wearing the prescribed uniform. During the fiscal year, the Centre wrote to the concerned authorities recommending action against 11,101 employees.
“During our surprise inspections, we found that 2,000 to 3,000 employees in Kathmandu were neither staying at their offices nor providing services from 9 am to 5 pm,” an official said. “Some were found marking their attendance early in the morning and leaving for home. Some were even found arriving in the morning and marking their attendance again only at 5 pm.”
Following directives from the Cabinet and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the centre has been deploying various teams to conduct surprise inspections on a daily basis.
