Govt proposes upping facilities for former prez, VP

- Removes VVIPs from state beneits list

- Only five former top officials to get state facilities

KATHMANDU, Feb 25: The government has registered a new bill in parliament proposing monthly pensions for former presidents and vice presidents and other facilities.

The bill proposes monthly allowances of Rs 50,000 and 40,000 for former presidents and vice-presidents respectively. Likewise the bill has proposes Rs 200,000 for former presidents and Rs 75,000 for various other former top officials as rent allowance. Former officials with their own homes in the capital will get half the amount.

The Bill on Provision of Facilities for Former Office Bearers registered in parliament this week has proposed state facilities only for former presidents, vice presidents, prime ministers, speakers, chairmen of the National Assembly and chief justices. The government has been paying the rent for former president Ram Baran Yadav without any policy or rules.

According to provisions in the bill, the former officials will get a motor vehicle and if any of them already owns a vehicle, Rs 25,000 monthly will be provided as maintenance cost. Likewise, the bill proposes providing over 200 liters of fuel every month to all former officials.

According to the bill, a former president will be given a secretariat team led by an under-secretary and including an office assistant and a driver. Other officials will get a section officer and a driver.

If the bill is passed without any revisions, the state can provide security to such former officials after evaluating the security threat. The bill also states that the government can revise the facilities at any time through a notice in the Nepal Gazette.

Earlier, a bill registered by the government proposing state facilities for 14 various former VVIPs was withdrawn, following wide criticism. The bill had proposed state facilities for former deputy prime ministers, home ministers and others also.

A parliamentary committee had directed the government to provide state facilities only to the five topmost former officials after a study found that Rs 4 million has being spent annually from state coffers by way of facilities for former VVIPs and top officials.

According to Janak Raj Joshi, head of a sub-committee under the Good Governance and Monitoring Committee of parliament, the state has been meeting various expenses for nine former prime ministers, 12 chief justices, four speakers, about a dozen deputy prime ministers and 17 home ministers, without any proper legal provisions. Likewise, the former chiefs of the security bodies have been enjoying facilities such as vehicles, security and staff from their respective offices. Joshi said such facilities will be ended after the endorsement of the bill by parliament.