The task force, formed under the chair of Dr Yuvraj Sangraula, had after a three-month-long study made various recommendations to help strengthen and bring about improvements in all three security agencies under the Home Ministry-- the Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and the National Investigation Department.
The task force had been formed by the outgoing Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam, in the wake of the rebellions in the various police units in the mid-western parts of the country and amid complaints that senior officials were exploiting lower-rung police personnel.
But the recommendations soon fell victim to the usual government practice of shirking responsibility. To implement the recommendations made by the report, a work plan based on the recommendations had been forwarded to the Cabinet for its nod, said officials at the Home Ministry. However, the Cabinet had then sent the work plan for necessary discussion to its Administration Committee.
“It now depends on how the new government to be formed shortly will take the recommendations of the Task Force,” said a senior official, preferring anonymity, at the Home Ministry. “The recommendations will be implemented only if the new government deems them appropriate.”
It´s highly unlikely that the new government will comply with the old´s recommendations. The officials at the Home Ministry say that there is now little chance of implementing the recommendations, given the criticisms from various quarters, including from senior police officials, about what they call “controversial” recommendations. Indeed, there have been hardly a handful of cases where succeeding governments have implemented the decisions made by a previous government.
The task force had suggested limiting the tenures of the Nepal Police, the Armed Police and the NID chiefs to two years, and the tenures of the Additional Inspector General (AIG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) level officers to three years each. Police officers are not happy about the provision as it will send them home too early from their service if they do not get regular promotions in succeeding positions.
Among others, the task force, comprising former officials with the Nepal Police, the APF and the NID, had suggested that a Police Service Commission be formed and that written exams and interviews be conducted for contenders seeking promotions to senior police positions.
The stalling of the task force´s recommendations to be implemented was used an excuse to entirely stall promotions within the security forces. The promotion of dozens of senior police officers, including five AIG positions in the Nepal Police, has stalled since February 16. The government also dilly-dallied on awarding promotions for various APF positions, including that of three AIGs.
The task force had also suggested deploying AIG-level police officers to head five regional-level police offices of the Nepal Police, against the existing provision of deputing DIG-level officers.
Likewise, the task force recommended keeping only officer-level employees with the NID and re-engineering the intelligence arm of the government to meet the challenges in maintaining law and order in the country. “But all these recommendations have been shelved for now,” added the official at the ministry.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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