KATHMANDU, March 28: Five senior staffers at the parliament secretariat have been adjusted at the provincial level ‘without their knowledge’. The adjustment of the staff took place breaching the due process, reportedly in the interest of top office bearers of the federal parliament.
Sources at the parliament secretariat said the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) adjusted those five staffers in the interest of top officials at the parliament secretariat including National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina.
Asked about the issue, spokesperson at the parliament secretariat Rojnath Pandey said the parliament secretariat was taken by surprise by the decision.
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“The parliament secretariat has sought details from the ministry after finding the names of the five staffers who had not applied for adjustment were included on the list of staffers adjusted to the local and provincial levels,” said Pandey.
However, spokesperson at the ministry Suresh Adhikari said that the decision of the adjustment was taken in consultation with the office bearers at the parliament secretariat.
“The ministry adjusted those five staffers from the parliament secretariat in accordance to the list provided by the parliament secretariat,” said Adhikari. “The ministry didn’t ask the parliament staffers to fill online form for adjustment but asked the secretariat to send the list of interested staffers and took decision based on the list.”
The government can adjust any civil servant to the vacant posts at the provincial and local levels but not the staffers of the parliament secretariat without proper process of application by the staffers, according to the newly endorsed Civil Servants Adjustment Act.
According to the parliament secretariat, 31 staffers including eight under secretaries and 23 officials had applied for adjustment at the provincial and local levels when the parliament asked for application earlier this month.
Out of them, the ministry didn’t adjust section officer Govinda Gautam to the province or local level after he requested the ministry to withdraw his application. But the ministry adjusted under-secretaries Dinesh Prakash Acharya, Madan Pokharel, Keshav Aryal and section officers Binod Mali and Gopalnath Lakhi (Shrestha) to the respective provinces from where they acquired their citizenship certificate although they had not applied for the adjustment.
“We have inquired with the parliament secretariat after hearing about our adjustment although we had not applied for adjustment. I don’t think this is just a human error,” said under-secretary Aryal.
Those staffers at the parliament adjusted to the provinces without their consent have planned to challenge the decision of the ministry at the court. Parliament secretariat spokesperson Pandey said that the secretariat has not forwarded the letter of adjustment of the five staffers to the ministry after finding out that the decision was taken without their consent.
