Government to Launch ‘Zero Pending File Week’ to Improve Public Service Delivery

The government is set to launch a “Zero Pending File Week” campaign to make official work faster, more transparent, and accountable. The campaign will run from Chaitra 30 to Baisakh 7, according to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Nepal.

The office has already approved the “Zero Pending File Week Operation Guidelines, 2082” to implement the campaign.

According to Joint Secretary and spokesperson Hemraj Aryal, the initiative aims to address delays in decision-making caused by files being unnecessarily held at different levels and desks in government offices. He said such practices, including forwarding files to higher authorities without using one’s own legal authority, have negatively affected service delivery.

He stated, “The main objective of this campaign is to ensure that all government offices complete their tasks and make decisions on time. If a decision cannot be made, the concerned higher office should be informed. Not all files may be decided, but the reason for non-decision must be clearly reported.”

The guidelines have been approved and circulated to all ministries, commissions, the offices of chief ministers and councils of ministers in all seven provinces, and all local levels for implementation. As per a decision made on Chaitra 27, all concerned bodies have also been requested to implement the guidelines and submit reports.

The campaign aims to resolve issues such as delays in decision-making, lack of clarity on why decisions are not made, and files remaining stuck on desks for long periods. Initially, it will be conducted as a one-week campaign, after which offices will be required to continuously maintain records of both decided and pending files and report their status.

The guidelines also mention that departmental action may be taken against office heads or employees who fail to comply.

Another key objective of the campaign is proper documentation of registered files. According to Aryal, the campaign will help clearly track how many files are received, decided, pending, and resolved, and who is responsible for them.

As per the guidelines, files that have been pending for more than three, seven, or fifteen days must undergo an automatic review process. File tracking will be the core of the campaign, requiring every office to update daily records showing where each file is, who is responsible, and how long it has been pending.

Additionally, the roles, duties, and responsibilities of office heads, division chiefs, and section chiefs have been clearly defined. Each office will also be required to maintain daily progress reports throughout the campaign period.