KATHMANDU: Chief Secretary Govinda Karki has issued a 22-point directive to secretaries of federal ministries, instructing them to improve civil service conduct, make public services more citizen-friendly, strengthen governance reforms, and review the country’s public holiday system.
The directives were issued during a meeting of federal government secretaries on Monday, focusing on good governance, service delivery, fiscal discipline, civil service management and legal reforms.
Karki directed ministries to complete pending tasks under the government’s 100-point governance reform agenda without delay. He also instructed ministries to simplify decision-making by implementing Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and ensure secretaries personally monitor progress.
To improve service delivery and eliminate middlemen, the directive calls for the implementation of a one-stop service system at high-traffic public offices, including land revenue, survey, transport, labour, district administration and police offices. Separate staff are also to be assigned to assist citizens who are unable to prepare applications or complaints.
The chief secretary further instructed all ministries and service-providing agencies to introduce an integrated citizen grievance and feedback management system through QR codes, websites and mobile applications, ensuring complaints are addressed within a specified timeframe.
Karki also urged ministries to expedite the transfer of land revenue and survey services to local governments, strengthen interoperability of digital public services, and provide regular training to government employees.
Under the new organisational and management survey, ministries have been directed to redeploy excess staff to vacant positions across federal, provincial and local governments. They have also been instructed not to fill permanent vacancies during the current fiscal year without approval from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
The directive requires all ministries, departments and offices to sign annual performance agreements with their respective heads, using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as service delivery, budget expenditure, project implementation, grievance handling and citizen satisfaction for regular evaluation.
Karki also stressed the effective implementation of the National Integrity Policy 2026 to promote discipline and ethical conduct among civil servants. Government agencies have been instructed to remain prepared for monsoon-related disasters and possible disease outbreaks, while efforts to remove Nepal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list have been prioritised.
The directives also emphasise maintaining fiscal discipline, reducing audit irregularities, strengthening coordination to curb cross-border crime and revenue leakage, and initiating procurement processes early to ensure timely completion of development projects.
In addition, ministries have been instructed to ensure proper institutional knowledge transfer during transfers, promotions and retirements, submit draft performance agreements between ministers and the prime minister by July 24, and prepare draft bills planned for the current fiscal year without delay.
Meanwhile, the government has formed a task force led by a joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs to review the necessity of other public holidays following the implementation of the two-day weekend system on Saturdays and Sundays.
The task force, comprising representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the Ministry of Land Management, and the Ministry of Finance, has been asked to submit its report within 15 days.
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