KATHMANDU, Sept 28: Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation (MoEWRI) Kulman Ghising has removed Joint Secretary Jiwacha Mandal from the position of Director General of the Department of Electricity Development. Mandal had previously given Ghising a zero score in his performance evaluation when Ghising was serving as Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
According to sources from MoEWRI, under Minister Ghising’s direction, Mandal has now been removed from the position of DG of the Department by a ministerial decision issued on Friday. Mandevi Shrestha has been appointed to his place. Shrestha is the first female Director General in the department's history. Mandal has been transferred from the department back to the ministry.
Zero evaluation marks to Ghising, speaker directs govt to respo...
About a month and a half ago, then-Minister Deepak Khadka transferred Mandal from the ministry and appointed him as DG of the Electricity Development Department. Before that, Mandal had been serving as Joint Secretary at the MoEWRI.
During his tenure as Joint Secretary, he had given the then-MD Ghising a zero score in his performance evaluation. At that time, the score was reportedly intended as a means to remove Ghising from his post as MD. On 24 March, the Cabinet had decided to remove Ghising from the NEA leadership, and Hitendra Dev Shakya was appointed in his place.
Upon his appointment as MoEWRI, Ghising began actively reshuffling senior-level employees. He removed Shakya from the NEA as MD and initiated a series of transfers and postings among senior staff.
Within ten days of taking office, Ghising had moved Shakya from the position of MD of the Authority. In the Cabinet meeting held on 21 September, it was decided to transfer Shakya from the NEA to the Water and Energy Commission, and Manoj Silwal was appointed to replace him.
Currently, Ghising is handling not only the MoEWRI but also two other major ministries: the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation, and the Ministry of Urban Development. However, he has not yet made any staff changes in these two ministries. Following his appointment as Energy Minister, the ministry has also canceled the employee transfer decisions made earlier on September 3 and 5.
