KATHMANDU, March 11: Once a minister changes, more than Rs 600,000 is spent on cleaning, painting and changing the furniture in the quarters prepared for the minister's residence. The Federal Secretariat Construction and Management Office has been formed for the purpose of supervising and managing the minister's quarters and for the immediate provision of goods if requested by the members of the minister's family living in the minister's residence.

After the ministers change, the Management Office provides new items for the new ministers. The office staff of the management office replaces all the furniture such as carpets, curtains, sofas, etc. used by the ministers and members of the ministers. In this way, changing new furniture costs Rs 500,000 to Rs 600,000 for one residence.

The Management Office has set up a unit in the Ministers’ Quarters to provide daily necessities to the ministers and their family members residing in the Ministers’ Quarters, Pulchowk. As soon as the members of a minister's family ask for any item, the secretariat staff make it available immediately.

The Ministers’ Quarters in Pulchowk has only 19 blocks where only 19 ministers stay. The rest of the ministers should stay outside the quarters. According to the Federal Secretariat Construction and Management Office sources, after the reshuffle of the Cabinet, all 19 blocks at the Ministers’ Quarters in Pulchowk have been occupied.

Upendra Yadav, who was recommended by the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) as Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister, will not be able to reside in the Ministers’ Quarters.

According to Management Office sources, on Thursday, a member of Yadav's family inquired with the secretariat staff to book a block inside the Ministers’ Quarters at Pulchowk. However, the staff of the secretariat said, "All the blocks have been booked. Now, even if the Prime Minister comes, we cannot provide a block to him.”

An employee of the secretariat says, "Now he (Yadav) has to stay outside the Ministers’ Quarters. Or one of the ministers there should be forced to stay outside.

Out of the 19 blocks in the Ministers’ Quarters, 14 are old and five are new blocks. The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Home Affairs and ministers holding important ministries usually live in new blocks. The new blocks have some more facilities compared to the old ones.

According to Secretariat sources, outgoing Minister of State for Education Pramila Kumari has not yet vacated the ministerial quarters provided to her. In general, the minister is allowed to stay in the quarters for a week after leaving his/her post.

According to Secretariat sources, the family members of Home and Deputy Prime Minister Rabi Lamichhane have booked the D1 block. Earlier too, Lamichhane became the Home Minister along with the Deputy Prime Minister on December 27 last year. As a minister, he stayed in the Ministry of Home Affairs for 32 days. Even then, he was staying in the minister's residence.

Similarly, family members of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha have booked the D4 block. The family members of Deputy Prime Minister and Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Raghubir Mahaseth have booked D1, Finance Minister Barshaman Pun D2, Energy and Water Resources Minister Shakti Basnet B4, Federal Affairs and General Administration Minister Bhanubhakt Joshi C2, Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Hit Bahadur Tamang have booked B1 blocks.

According to the staff of the secretariat, if the outgoing Minister of State for Education Pramila Kumari vacates the quarters, the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security Dol Prasad Aryal will live in the block. Aryal's family members have already booked the block. 

The Ministry of Urban Development is constructing a modern and comfortable building at Bhaisepati in Lalitpur for the ministers’ residence. If the building work is completed in Bhaisepati, all the ministers will live there.

 
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