KATHMANDU, Aug 17 : Confusion has arisen after the National Assembly kept the “cooling-off period” provision unchanged in the Federal Civil Service Act bill, which the House of Representatives had already passed. The bill has been stuck in the National Assembly’s Legislative Committee for over a month and a half, preventing it from moving forward.
Hridyaram Thani, a member of the House State Affairs Committee, said the delay in advancing the bill in the National Assembly has caused confusion. “This bill should have been certified by the President within the month of Shrawan, but it was delayed. After keeping the cooling-off period provision unchanged, the bill is now in limbo,” Thani said.
He stressed that the Federal Civil Service Act needs to be implemented as soon as possible. “The House of Representatives passed it to take effect from Shrawan. For example, the retirement age limit should have been applied as the bill was certified that month, but it was delayed,” he added.
The bill was introduced in the House on Falgun 21, 2080, passed by the House on Asar 15, 2082, and sent to the National Assembly. Even after one and a half months, the bill has not returned to the House. Under the procedure, the National Assembly can correct errors in the bill and send it back to the House.
Bill bars local units from recruiting civil servants
If there were no errors to correct, the bill could have gone directly to the President for certification. Now it will return to the House, and after corrections, it will be sent to the President’s office through the Speaker for certification.
The State Affairs Committee had urged the National Assembly to clarify the cooling-off period provision before sending it back. The National Assembly could have corrected it and returned it promptly, but it caused further delay. “The National Assembly could have sent it back within a few days after correcting the errors, but it sent it to the Legislative Committee. The bill is now stuck there,” Thani said.
According to one member of the State Affairs Committee, some people seeking to remove the cooling-off period deliberately wanted the bill to stall in the National Assembly. They hope either to prevent its progress or find a way to remove the provision.
Lawmakers emphasized that the bill should be advanced quickly to prevent those trying to remove the cooling-off provision from succeeding.
Directive to implement Parliamentary Committee report
Speaker Devraj Ghimire on Friday directed the implementation of a parliamentary committee report investigating the tampering with the cooling-off period in the Federal Civil Service Act passed by the House. He had sought the advice of chief whips from all major parties.
Following their suggestions, Speaker Ghimire instructed the House Secretary, Harkraj Rai, to forward the report to all parliamentary offices of parties, the Cabinet and Prime Minister’s office, and the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs for implementation. The inquiry committee, chaired by Jeevan Pariyar, had submitted its report on Shrawan 18.
The committee, formed on Asar 23, concluded that Ramhari Khatri, chair of the State Affairs Committee, and Secretary Suraj Kumar Dura should take moral responsibility for the tampering. Khatri has resigned, and questions are now being raised about Secretary Ekanarayan Aryal.
The bill’s Section 82 includes the cooling-off period. Subsection 5 contained wording that reversed the cooling-off period. Subsection 4 barred secretaries and under-secretaries from working elsewhere for two years, but subsection 5(a) added that they could not accept any positions except constitutional, diplomatic, or other appointments made by the Government of Nepal. This misleading addition created further confusion among lawmakers.
