New standard for transferring civil servants on the anvil

KATHMANDU, Feb 5: The government is going to make a new standard for the transfer of civil servants. Arjun Prasad Pokharel, secretary of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, said that the details of all civil servants are currently being collected for that purpose. According to him, the work of collecting the details of the government employees is in the initial stage.

According to ministry sources, as per the criteria, the staff that have been in the same office for a long time will be assigned outside Kathmandu and at the local level. “Some have not left Singha Durbar for 5-6 years; some have to stay outside Kathmandu forever. A standard is being introduced to prevent this kind of situation," said an under secretary of the ministry. "After the standard is introduced, employees who have stayed in the same office for more than four years will be transferred." Government employee union leaders and employees with access to the higher-ups have been working in the same office for a long time. They don't want to leave Kathmandu. Sources in the ministry said that the ministry is going to introduce a standard to discourage such employees from staying in Kathmandu as much as possible, and that too to discourage the trend of being transferred to desired offices.

Pokharal, the secretary of the ministry, said that considering the nature of the office, there will be a study on whether it is necessary for the same person to stay for a long time. “There is also a compulsion in some offices for staff to stay in an office for a long time. Such employees are indispensable for the office. There is no question of transferring such employees,” said Pokharel, “So, we also look at the nature of the office and the expertise of the employees and make them the basis for forming the new standard.”

According to ministry sources, the work of collecting the details of the employees is being done by the Personnel Administration Division under the Ministry. Ministry sources say that the department has started collecting the preliminary details of the employees who have not moved out of Kathmandu and the employees who have not been transferred to Kathmandu. Even after the federalization of the country, the Federal Civil Service Act has not been enacted for a long time.

According to the senior officials of the ministry, difficulties have arisen in the transfer and promotion of employees due to the absence of the Federal Civil Service Act. A senior employee of the ministry says, "Until the Federal Civil Service Act is brought, there are preparations to bring the standard to prevent the irregularities in transfers."