Kathmandu. Despite the government’s clear directives to prohibit the entry of unauthorized persons in the offices related to land management, the activities of middlemen in various government bodies of Sarlahi have not stopped yet.

The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation had issued a directive to ban middlemen in the Land Revenue, Survey and other offices across the country.However, the directive has not been implemented effectively in some offices of Sarlahi.

OnSunday, police arrested nine middlemen from the Land Reform and Land Revenue Office and Transport Management Office’s trial center at Malangawa on Sunday.It is alleged that they have been extorting money from the service recipients on the pretext of getting the work done quickly.

Similarly, the activity of middlemen has not decreased in the premises of Survey Office located in Barahathwa. Locals have complained that some people living in the name of accountants have been charging extra money in the pretext of providing easy service to the service recipients. It has been found that the middlemen have been charging around Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 from the service recipients in the pretext of facilitating the work. Locals say that even the head of the office asks the service recipient to work with (middleman).

Similarly, middlemen are still active in other transport management offices in the district, including the Trial Land Reform and Land Revenue Office.

Service recipients are directly affected by the access of middlemen to government offices. The general public is angry that they have been forced to pay extra even for the services that are legally free or at low fees.