Secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) Som Lal Subedi, Secretary at the Ministry of Industry Jay Mukunda Khanal and Secretary at the Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Shreedhar Gautam are vying for the post.According to the Civil Service Act, chief secretary will be appointed from among current secretaries of the government on the basis of seniority and work performance. The three secretaries are the senior-most secretaries of the government. All three officials were promoted as secretaries on April 13, 2011.
As Gautam will be retiring because of age limit and the Commission for the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had last year directed the government to take departmental action against him for not fulfilling his duty as the secretary at Nepal Trust, it would not be easy for him to bag the post.
The CIAA on September 5 last year had also directed the government not to award any important position to Gautam in future.
So, Subedi and Khanal are strong contenders for the post of chief secretary.
Secretary Subedi has worked for a long time at MoFALD. He has served as local development officer in various districts. Subedi, who holds a PhD degree in financial decentralization, has already served as the secretary of Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Education, Labor Ministry and Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.
Likewise, Secretary Khanal has long work experience in the postal service and the home ministry. He has served as chief district officer in several districts. After being promoted to secretary, he served as regional chief and secretary at the agriculture ministry, prime minister's office and Nepal Trust before being transferred to the industry ministry.
Sources at Prime Minister's Office said Chief Secretary Paudyal is taking leave from August 1.
After that, a cabinet meeting will appoint chief secretary from among the candidates eligible for the position. The acting chief secretary will be appointed chief secretary after the incumbent chief secretary officially retires.
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