KATHMANDU, Jan 30: Outgoing tourism secretary Maheshwar Neupane, who has recently been transferred to Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO), has requested his successor Krishna Prasad Devkota not to get influenced by external power while performing his responsibilities at the tourism ministry.
Speaking at a program organized at the ministry to bid farewell to the outgoing secretary and welcome the new secretary on Monday, Neupane said that he faced pressure from different quarters during his term. “I withstood pressure from different forces having vested interests. Such being the backdrop, I would like to say that the ministry should not get influenced by such people,” he added.
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Briefing his successor about the ongoing projects at the ministry, Neupane requested Devkota to give continuity to the project. “It has become a norm to transfer secretaries every six months or so. I would like to extend my best wishes to the newly-appointed secretary to stay longer in the post and complete all pending projects,” he added.
In response, newly-appointed secretary Devkota said that nobody can influence works of the ministry if every staff works as per the law. “We cannot ignore the fact that external forces to play a huge role in appointment and transfer of secretaries,” he said, adding: “However, I believe in rule of law. If we do not give them (external forces) room to play, they cannot interfere in our internal matters.”
He also assured the ministry officials that he would discharge duties at the ministry by working in coordination with all the staffers.
The cabinet meeting held last Thursday had taken the decision to transfer Devkota to tourism ministry and Neupane to PPMO.
