The Nagarik App has stopped offering important services after the vendor Service Toward Technology Nepal ended their operations due to a government contract ending. While the contract ended in Asad, the vendor continued providing services for a month. Employees reported this week that they stopped coming to work due to uncertainty over pay and the contract going forward. 

Service Toward Technology Nepal managed the development, maintenance and operations of the app by mostly contracting the work out. The Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology did not issue a contract extension nor started the process to select a new vendor. The disruptions have also impacted every manual service, including the call centre and photo verification, resulting in 16 employees not reporting to work at the Nagarik App office in Singha Durbar.

Department Director General Ramesh Sharma Paudyal confirmed that there were delays in issuing a new tender and also that departmental staff have been diverted to help the processes continue for a brief period of time. "We are having discussions to renew the contract and secure a new vendor," he said, adding that, "the government cannot just let this service completely disappear." The tender process is likely to take two to three months and services may continue to be operated under a temporary extension until a new contract is executed.