KATHMANDU, Sept 16: The transfers made by former ministers in various ministries just a day or two before the fall of the KP Sharma Oli-led government will not be implemented. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has already issued a notice declaring that the transfer and posting decisions made on September 5 and 7 will not be enforced. Similarly, pressure is mounting within the Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure to not implement the transfers carried out during the tenure of the previous ministers.
The NEA’s public notice stated, “This is to inform all concerned that the transfer/placement decisions made on 2082/05/20 and 2082/05/22 will not be implemented for now.”
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Urban Development, Narayan Mainali, said that a final decision had not been made regarding whether or not to implement the transfers made by the previous minister. “Discussions are ongoing regarding whether to enforce the earlier transfers. A decision has not yet been finalized,” he said.
Huge irregularities found in employee transfers, 75 percent of...
However, a senior official at the ministry indicated that it is almost certain that the transfers made during the former minister’s tenure will not be enforced. “Those transfers were completely irregular. Most of them were unfair, with some employees transferred after only five or six months,” the official said.
According to him, there had been significant financial dealings in connection with those transfers. “They were not based on performance or progress but rather on access and financial benefit. That is why now the previous transfers must be scrapped and new ones made based on performance and achievement,” the official added.
Only a few days ago, the ministry had transferred 26 division engineers, equivalent to under-secretary level, from one office to another. Some of those transferred have already received their letters, while some have not. No one, however, has collected their official appointment letter (ramana patra), according to a ministry staff member.
As per the Civil Service Act and Civil Service Regulations, employees are generally required to serve for two years in one office before being transferred. But according to another official, this rule has not been followed at the Urban Development Ministry.
Similarly, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure also transferred more than four dozen division engineers at the under-secretary level from one office to another a few days ago. Employees at the ministry are now pressuring leadership not to implement these transfers. citing irregularities. However, those transferred to more lucrative postings are demanding that their transfers be enforced. “Most of the transfers at the ministry were irregular. Some were shifted from one attractive office to another, from accessible areas to other accessible areas, based on influence and power. That’s why these transfers must be cancelled,” an employee said.
According to sources at the Ministry of Land Management, preparations were underway to transfer several under-secretaries, especially targeting land revenue offices in the Kathmandu Valley, when the government suddenly fell. “The list of desired staff was already prepared, and financial transactions had even taken place in some cases. But the sudden collapse of the government prevented the list from being implemented,” a staff member revealed. The source further said that the transfer list had been prepared with the involvement of staffers working in the former minister’s secretariat.
According to the Civil Service Act and Regulations, September (Bhadra) is designated as the transfer period for civil servants. Clause 36 of the Civil Service Regulations (1993) states that the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration must carry out ministry-level transfers from September 1 to the end of the month, central agencies and departments must complete internal transfers between October 1 and 15, and regional-level agencies must complete them from October 16 to the end of the month. Transfers before or after the prescribed timetable can only be made if necessary, and such transfers must have the approval of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration.
However, most ministries have been conducting transfers discreetly in the name of administrative necessity without obtaining the required approval from the Ministry of General Administration.
