A cabinet meeting endorsed the proposal to print SLC question papers in the security press in the country, according to government spokesperson Shankar Pokharel.[break]
The decision came after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in October, 2010 directed to print the question papers at the security press of Janak Education Material Center. In December, 2010, the CIAA raised a concern over government’s reluctance to implement its direction.
The question papers were printed at the press in 2005 but the government discontinued it citing security.
Secretaries transferred
The cabinet meeting also transferred four secretaries serving in various ministries.
According to Minister for Information and Communication Shankar Pokharel, Secretary at the Public Service Commission Keshab Bhattarai has been transferred to the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management (MoLRM) while Chhabi Raj Pant, who was at MoLRM, has been transferred to Regional Administration Office, Dipayal.
The cabinet meeting transferred Shital Babu Regmi to the Ministry of Energy from Cantonments Management Office of the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction. Likewise, Kathmandu Metropolitan City´s Chief Executive Officer Ananda Pokharel has been transferred to Regional Administration Office, Surkhet.
With the transfer of secretaries at the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Cantonments Management, secretary positions at the two bodies have been scrapped. Joint secretary-level officers will head the KMC and Cantonments Management Office from now on.
According to Minister Pokharel, the cabinet meeting also extended the term of Nepal Army brigadier generals Ramindra Chhetri and Dhir Bahadur Gurung. While Chhetri is serving as spokesperson of Nepal Army, Gurung is academic director of NA at Chhauni.
The cabinet also appointed Dharma Kumar Bajimaya as the general manager of Nepal Drinking Water and Sanitation Corporation and approved Tulasi Ram Agrawal as the consular general for the Maldives in the Kathmandu region. Among other things, the meeting also decided to form a committee for the land acquisition for the Kathmandu-Bara Fast-Track.
Panta to move court against transfer
Secretary at the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management Chhabi Raj Panta has announced he would move court against the government decision to transfer him.
Talking to Republica, Panta said he is the senior-most among the present secretaries. "This is an insult. This is the height of injustice against me," he said. "I have already served there. A senior-most secretary is not transferred in this fashion."
Panta, who is retiring within six months, said he would not go to the new posting at any cost.
Panta alleged that Prime Minister Madhav Nepal decided to transfer him at the request of CPN-ML Chairman C P Mainali.
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