KATHMANDU, Aug 9: Some ministries have quietly reassigned employees ahead of the scheduled timetable, citing work needs. Employee transfers are typically carried out annually between August–September and September–October. However, this year, several ministries have moved staff one to one-and-a-half months earlier than usual, justifying the move on the grounds of work demands.
The Civil Service Regulations, 2050 BS, specify the transfer schedule for civil servants. According to Section 36 of the regulations, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) must conduct transfers at the ministry or ministry level from August 15 to September 15; central bodies or departments conduct internal transfers from September 15 to 30 and regional-level bodies complete transfers from October 1 to 15.
Transfers before or after the specified schedule should only be done in urgent cases and require prior approval from MoFAGA. However, some ministries are currently conducting secret transfers citing work without obtaining consent from MoFAGA.
Kali Prasad Parajuli, spokesperson of MoFAGA, expressed objection that although it is mandatory to obtain ministry approval for transfers conducted outside the regular schedule, some ministries have transferred employees without consent.
Existing ministries in Province 1 to be split
He also stated that senior officials of other ministries have repeatedly drawn attention to this issue. He has requested that such transfers be stopped.
When transferring employees, the transfer letter must specify the duration of the transfer, which should be at least two years. But this provision has also been violated. Transfers outside the scheduled timetable disregard minimum standards, methods, and procedures.
Especially in transfers from less attractive to more attractive offices, influence, pressure from leaders, money, and middlemen have been found to dominate.
The Office of the Financial Comptroller General (FCGO) has transferred 18 employees from the accounting group outside the regular schedule in the past week. Among those transferred are 4 undersecretaries and 14 accounting officers. Employees who have served for eight years in the FCGO have not been transferred to other attractive offices outside the FCGO Controller's Office. However, some employees from the revenue accounting section have been transferred within six months to highly attractive offices like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reportedly through influence. “This is an extreme anomaly,” said one employee.
Employees from the minister’s secretariat have tended to receive such opportunities. The FCGO transferred 10 accounting employees on Friday, after transferring three employees on Wednesday.
A few days ago, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation (MoLCPA) secretly transferred 10 senior employees citing work demands. That transfer was also outside the rules. The Civil Service Act, 2049 BS, and Civil Service Regulations, 2050 BS, set certain grounds for transfers. Generally, lower-level employees are not transferred for at least two years. Employees who have served a term in an accessible location are transferred to a remote location in the next term. Transfers from attractive places to other attractive places are not allowed as a rule.
Last year, a secretary-level meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers established a standard to regulate transfers. Even after that, irregularities in transfers continued. A source from MoFAGA said, “When preparing the transfer list, personnel from the employee administration section are overshadowed by employees close to various political parties, officials of employee unions and organizations, middlemen, and members of the minister’s secretariat. The list coming from the minister’s secretariat is taken as final and transfers are made accordingly.”
The ministry posts the transfer list on its website with delays. First, a list is prepared and then modifications are made. The ministry source states there is a lot of manipulation during the modification process.
