Lumbini Province Restores Secretariat Staff Appointments for Officials and Lawmakers

Butwal. After the Genji movement, the secretariat staff of provincial officials and lawmakers, which had been cut, are now being appointed in large numbers. The Lumbini Province government has revived the old system of appointing secretariat staff for the Chief Minister, Ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, and Provincial Lawmakers by publishing a notice in the Gazette. With this, the process of appointing secretariat secretaries has been moving forward rapidly. After the Genji movement, the interim federal government had cut the secretariat staff appointed by provincial governments from the state treasury. Now, after the provincial government made the legal path clear by a cabinet decision, officials and lawmakers have started appointing their close associates as secretariat staff. The Lumbini Province government, through a cabinet meeting on Bhadra 4, amended Schedule-2 of the 'Chief Minister and Ministers' Remuneration Act, 2075'. According to this decision, the Chief Minister can appoint a Political Advisor, Expert, Chief Secretariat Secretary, Secretariat Secretary, Press Coordinator, and Secretariat Assistant. The cabinet decision was published in the Gazette on Bhadra 5. According to the new system, the Political Advisor will receive benefits equivalent to a State Minister. The Expert and Chief Secretariat Secretary will receive benefits equivalent to a Deputy Secretary, the Secretariat Secretary and Press Coordinator will receive benefits equivalent to an Officer, and the Secretariat Assistant will receive benefits equivalent to a Non-Gazetted First Class Officer. Chief Minister Chetanarayan Acharya has not yet appointed anyone to positions such as Political Advisor and Expert. However, he has appointed secretariat staff, assistants, and press coordinators in his secretariat. The spokesperson for the Lumbini Province government and Minister Ramji Prasad Ghimire said that the system decided by the cabinet and published in the Gazette will naturally come into effect. He stated that he has no information about the Chief Minister appointing a Political Advisor and Expert. 'It may not be necessary to consult with the ministers regarding the Chief Minister's appointments. I have not discussed this matter either,' Minister Ghimire told Ratopati. Similarly, ministers can also appoint a Secretariat Secretary, Secretariat Assistant, Office Helper, and Light Vehicle Driver. Before the Genji movement, up to 16 staff members used to be appointed in the Chief Minister's secretariat of Lumbini Province. They were paid from the state treasury. However, after the Genji movement, as per the directive of the then interim government, only three people, Secretariat Officer Lekhnath Khanal, Pradip Nepali, and Press Coordinator Dasharath Ghimire, were to remain in the Chief Minister's secretariat. Now, with the provincial government changing the legal provisions and opening the way for appointing secretariat staff, the Chief Minister's secretariat is also expanding. According to the new system, the Speaker can appoint a Secretariat Secretary, Press Coordinator, Secretariat Assistant, Office Helper, and Light Vehicle Driver. Earlier, although the interim government had allowed the Speaker to have a Secretariat Secretary, Speaker Tularam Gharti Magar had announced the dissolution of his then five-member secretariat. Now, with the implementation of the new system, the Speaker's secretariat has been expanded again. According to a minister of the provincial government, after the notice was published in the Gazette, the legal path for appointments has opened, and officials and lawmakers have started appointing secretariat staff according to their convenience. Provincial Assembly members will also be able to appoint secretariat staff. According to the Secretary of the Lumbini Provincial Assembly, Durlabh Pun Magar, the provision for secretariat secretaries for provincial assembly members was abolished for seven months. 'Even though it was abolished, some were working without salary. Now, after the notice is published, the process of paying the secretariat staff of the lawmakers has moved forward,' said Provincial Assembly Secretary Pun Magar to Ratopati. Questions are being raised about the increase in the number of secretariat staff, which will put an additional financial burden on the state treasury.