It has been found that the national human rights watchdog has moved ahead with the process despite a big “no” from the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (PMO). Both have refused to send their representatives to the five-member committee formed under the amended NHRC Regulations to make permanent its 72 staff currently working on contract basis. [break]
The Regulations say that there should be a representative each from the PSC and the PMO in the committee that has been entrusted with making the temporary staff permanent.
But PSC has refused to send its representative to the committee as the NHRC unilaterally amended its regulations in January despite PSC objection.
“PSC does not want to be involved in the middle of the process,” said PSC Spokesperson Dr Niranjan Prasad Upadhyaya.
Article 126 (3) (a) and (b) of the constitution say that any public body, including NHRC, is required to consult PSC over issues concerning amendment of laws and regulations related to their staff and appointment of employees.
NHRC had consulted the PSC but the latter replied that NHRC should maintain uniformity while amending its Regulations. PSC had asked NHRC to forward all proposed amendments to the PSC, but NHRC did not pay any heed. Sources said PSC refused to give its advice to the NHRC after smelling rat behind the amendment. PMO followed the suit.
NHRC, guided by the vested interests of the contract-based staff, amended the Regulations that opened the door to make all the temporary staff permanent.
“What can we do when PSC does not give its advice and PMO does not support us?” asked NHRC Secretary Bishal Khanal. He claimed that the NHRC has abided by all existing laws in the process.
The decision to make temporary staff permanent was not unanimous in the NHRC itself. According to sources, NHRC member Dr Leela Pathak has written a note of dissent in the minute of the decision, saying that such a move was unconstitutional and would encroach upon the constitutional jurisdiction of PSC. She also maintained that the decision violated common people´s right to take part in free competition, sources said.
Initially, another NHRC member Dr KB Rokaya was also opposed to the decision and had not signed the minute. But he was forced to sign the minute after some employees threatened him of exposing his regular absence from the office.
“There are three people from the legal background. I suppose whatever they decided is within the constitution and law,” said Dr Rokaya. “Let us wait and see how the situation develops.”
Row over temporary staff
The way NHRC appointed temporary staff is in itself questionable. Most of incumbent the NHRC staff on contract basis used to work for donor-funded fixed-term projects. As the projects phased out, the staff were appointed on contract basis without following a due legal process.
“NHRC needed them to run the office. So they were appointed on contract basis,” said former acting NHRC Secretary Dhruba Nepal, who appointed many of such employees, said.
He could have asked the government for manpower as the government is supposed to supply manpower to NHRC as per Clause 18 of the National Human Rights Act. But he did not. “I am not aware of the legal provisions now, as I am no longer with the office,” Nepal said.
General trend of irregularities in appointments
There are many examples of irregularities while appointing temporary staff.
NHRC member Gauri Pradhan appointed L.O. Shrestha as a peon at his office, without meeting existing legal parameters. Shrestha was promoted to section officer on contract basis after four months, according to sources.
Dipak Jung Dhoj Karki is a deputy director at NHRC. He joined NHRC as personal assistant to a former NHRC member. After the member quit the office, Karki was appointed deputy director by decree. He has not appeared in any examination. He is now seeking permanent status at the constitutional body. Same is the case with another deputy director, Tika Ram Pokharel. Ditto for yet another deputy director, Durga Khadka. She joined the office as a typist for a project. She then became a temporary staffer and then deputy director after being hired on contract basis. She also did not face any legally required standard examination.
Sita Regmi is another temporary staffer. She joined the NHRC administration after passing an internal examination overseen by a committee in which her brother Krishna Adhikari was a member. Her case was then investigated by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). NHRC, in its book ´Five Years of NHR´ (Pages 37 and 45), has also expressed concern over the alleged irregularities in temporary appointments.
"These are just a couple of examples. If the appointments were to be investigated, you will find many serious irregularities," said a highly-placed source at NHRC.
CIAA, the constitutional anti-graft body, had then drawn the attention of the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to the irregularities at NHRC. OPMCM had written to NHRC five years ago over the matter but NHRC is yet to respond. NHRC had also formed an international committee headed by Ram Nagina Singh, who is now an NHRC member, but the committee has not prepared any report in this regard. Singh now heads the recruitment committee.
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