Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Members of the federal parliament will once again be allowed to appoint personal secretaries.
A cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided to allow members of both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly to appoint personal secretaries.
According to Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam, the provision was introduced by amending the schedule of the Federal Parliament Office-Bearers and Members’ Remuneration and Facilities Act, 2017. She said lawmakers would now be able to appoint personal secretaries.
Lawmakers were already allowed to appoint personal secretaries with benefits equivalent to those of a section officer. However, the facility was scrapped by the interim election government formed after the Gen Z movement of September last year.
The cabinet’s decision, however, has not yet been formally communicated to the Federal Parliament Secretariat.
Secretariat spokesperson Ekram Giri said the process of appointing personal secretaries would begin only after the official decision is received.
The two houses of federal parliament have a combined 334 members. The new decision would cost the state coffers around Rs 18 million every month.
