Lower house passes Federal Civil Service Bill

KATHMANDU: The long-awaited Federal Civil Service Bill, 2024, was passed by the House of Representatives on Sunday.

This is a significant bill for implementing administrative adjustments, as it facilitates the allocation of civil servants across the three tiers of government.

According to the bill, Principal Secretaries of provinces will be part of the Federal Civil Service, while provincial secretaries and chief administrative officers at the local level will belong to the provincial civil service. However, until a fully established provincial civil service is in place, officials from the federal service may be deputed for up to 10 years.

The Bill upholds the right of civil servants to form unions. Likewise, it introduces a two-year “cooling-off period” for civil servants. This means individuals who retire from the federal civil service will be eligible for constitutional appointments only after two years from their retirement. This provision had drawn criticism from senior government officials, with secretaries exerting pressure on the government to remove the provision.

The Bill will now be forwarded to the National Assembly. Once approved by the upper house, it will be sent back to the House of Representatives and then forwarded to the Office of the President for authentication.

Meanwhile, the School Education Bill has reached the final phase of discussion in the parliamentary committee. The committee is now preparing to draft a report and submit it to the House of Representatives.