KATHMANDU, Nov 17: Karnali Province has reduced the number of ministries as part of an ongoing administrative restructuring effort. A meeting of the provincial cabinet held on Monday morning decided to merge the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law with the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, reducing the total number of ministries.
Previously, Karnali operated with eight ministries, including the Office of the Chief Minister. Following the merger, the province will now have a seven-member Council of Ministers.
According to Binod Shah, Minister for Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives and spokesperson for the provincial government, this is the first phase of restructuring based on recommendations submitted earlier. He confirmed that the functions previously overseen by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law will now be handled directly by the Chief Minister’s Office. Chief Minister Yam Lal Kandel had been overseeing the Internal Affairs and Law portfolio himself.
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Earlier in the Nepali month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May), the provincial government had formed a High-Level Organization and Management Survey Committee under the leadership of retired Secretary Laxman Aryal. The committee also included former Karnali Chief Secretary Dr Gopi Krishna Khanal and Dr Suresh Tiwari as members.
The committee submitted its report on Ashar 25 (July 9), recommending the consolidation of eight ministries into six, the dissolution of dozens of directorates and offices, and the reduction of employee positions to 2,500. Based on the recommendation and the government’s policy to streamline provincial structures, the cabinet has begun implementing the proposals in phases.
To support implementation, the government had formed an “Implementation and Facilitation Committee” under Secretary Laxmi Kumar BK of the Governance Reform Division within the Chief Minister’s Office. However, progress had been slow until now.
Minister Shah also stated that the recent adjustment will not reduce the approved staffing positions currently in service. Instead, structural revisions have been made to balance positions between the merged ministries. Of the existing 101 approved posts across both ministries, 25 positions—including one provincial secretary—have been removed, bringing the total sanctioned positions down to 76.
According to the provincial government, the structural merger will make administrative work more efficient while reducing annual administrative and operational expenditures by approximately Rs 30 million.
