KATHMANDU, July 22: The government has begun reviewing the country's public holiday policy amid growing concerns that an increasing number of holidays has slowed public service delivery.
A meeting of secretaries chaired by Chief Secretary Govinda Bahadur Karki has directed the formation of a task force, led by a joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs and comprising representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, and the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, to submit recommendations on revising the public holiday system within 25 days.
Nepal is among the countries in South Asia with the highest number of public holidays. Including the weekly holidays, government offices remain closed for more than three and a half months each year due to festivals and various commemorative occasions. The introduction of a two-day weekend has further reduced the number of working days annually. As a result, services at public offices that directly serve citizens, including land revenue, transport management, survey and passport offices, are often disrupted for extended periods, forcing service seekers to endure long waits.
Experts say an excessive number of holidays hampers the government's ability to implement development projects and spend capital expenditure effectively while increasing delays in public service delivery. Although the government's effort to review the holiday system has been welcomed by many, the issue also carries social, cultural and political sensitivities. Since Nepal became a republic, the country's multicultural and multiethnic character has led to the recognition of festivals observed by different communities through public holidays.
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According to experts, merely reducing the number of holidays will not, by itself, improve service delivery. Reforms in administrative systems, greater use of technology and improved work culture are equally important. They argue that revising the public holiday calendar should be viewed as part of broader efforts to enhance administrative efficiency and the quality of public services.
Around four months after introducing a two-day weekend, the government is once again reviewing the holiday system. However, it has not clarified whether any specific holidays will be removed or reduced. "The task force has only just been formed. It will make recommendations after conducting a detailed study, and no decision has yet been made on which holidays, if any, will be revised," a government official said.
The two-day weekend came into effect on April 6, following a Cabinet decision taken a day earlier. Under the arrangement, government offices and educational institutions observe Saturdays and Sundays as weekly holidays, while office hours have been extended from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, maintaining a 40-hour work week.
Previously, government offices observed only Saturdays as weekly holidays. Although the idea of a two-day weekend had been discussed for more than a decade, earlier attempts to implement it were unsuccessful. This time, the government introduced the policy as part of measures to address the energy crisis and reduce fuel consumption.
Government officials say the total number of public holidays varies only slightly from year to year. Taking into account both national and religious holidays, the Ministry of Home Affairs generally announces around 35 public holidays each year through the Nepal Gazette. These include major festivals such as Dashain and Tihar, as well as smaller cultural, regional and religious observances.
Before the introduction of the two-day weekend, there were 52 weekly holidays each year. With Saturdays and Sundays now designated as weekends, the number has doubled to 104 weekly holidays annually.
Local and regional festivals, including Indra Jatra and Gai Jatra in the Kathmandu Valley, along with various festivals celebrated across the Tarai-Madhesh region, add some more local holidays in different parts of the country. Altogether, the total number of holidays now stands at around 145 days a year, meaning government offices remain closed for nearly 40 percent of the year.
Debate continues over the impact of the growing number of holidays on productivity in the private sector, industries, businesses and educational institutions. Amid these concerns, the government now appears to acknowledge that the current holiday calendar requires review, leading to the formation of the task force.
