KATHMANDU, June 3: In the civil service, the transfer of employees is the biggest issue. According to the 61st annual report of the Auditor General, 87 percent of civil servants are transferred untimely, confirming serious irregularities in the transfer process.
Section 36 of the Civil Service Rules 2050 BS states that if civil servants are to be transferred, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) must handle ministry-level transfers from mid-August to mid-September each year, central agency or department transfers from mid-September to the first week of October, and regional level agency transfers from the first week of October to the end of October.
Except for the schedule specified in Section 36, if transfers need to be made at other times, the approval of the MoFAGA must be obtained. However, approval from the MoFAGA is not required for temporary transfers. Ministries have been exploiting this provision to arbitrarily transfer employees.
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The law stipulates that when transferring civil servants, the transfer order must specify a period of at least two years. Section 36 of the regulations not only sets the transfer schedule but also defines its basis. According to the Auditor General's report, in the fiscal year 2022/23, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration transferred 1,954 gazetted officers and 1,347 non-gazetted officers. Of these transfers, only 13 percent were done in mid-August, while the remaining 87 percent were conducted in other months.
Similarly, the report states that ministries have repeatedly assigned various categories of employees to temporary positions. The Office of the Auditor General has directed the government to manage transfers and temporary assignments in accordance with the provisions of the law.
According to Section 18 (b) (1) of the Civil Service Act, 2049 BS, except in cases where an employee is on long leave, suspended, or assigned to a temporary position elsewhere, no employee can be placed in the reserve pool without responsibilities for more than two months.
If it is found that an employee has been placed in the reserve pool without a reason, the responsible officials who are required to assign responsibilities and engage the employee in work will face departmental action. It has been found that the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has repeatedly violated this provision.
According to the Auditor General's report, a total of Rs 184.86 million was spent on salaries and allowances for employees placed in the reserve pool during the fiscal year 2022/23.
Employees have been kept in the reserve pool without responsibilities for periods ranging from three to 10 months. Salaries must still be paid even when responsibilities are not assigned. On the one hand, employees are left without work, while on the other hand, service delivery has been impacted in offices facing high demand due to unfilled positions as per the approved posts.
