KATHMANDU: Top government bureaucrats in Nepal have become increasingly concerned following the inclusion of a proposed “cooling-off period” in the Federal Civil Service Bill.
The provision, which aims to bar recently retired top civil servants—such as the Chief Secretary and Secretaries—from immediately taking political or other government-appointed positions, has sparked discontent among senior officials.
On Thursday, a delegation of secretaries, led by Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal, met with Speaker of the House Devraj Ghimire to pressure him into removing the “cooling-off period” from the bill.
“They came specifically to draw the Speaker’s attention to the cooling-off clause,” said Press Advisor Shekhar Adhikari. “Chief Secretary Aryal and others verbally requested the Speaker to reconsider the provision.”
A total of 22 secretaries, including Secretary of the Ministry of Labour Krishna Hari Pushkar, accompanied Aryal, arguing that the state has invested significantly in them and should be able to utilize their expertise even after retirement.
“We believe the state should make use of the experience it has invested in over the years,” the officials told Speaker Ghimire. “Therefore, it would be appropriate to present the bill in Parliament without the cooling-off requirement.”
Secretary-General of Parliament Padma Prasad Pandey was also present during the meeting.
The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee has already passed the bill with the cooling-off provision, and it is now set to be tabled in Parliament.
During the meeting, Secretary Pushkar strongly opposed the clause, insisting that retired civil servants should not be deprived of opportunities to continue contributing to the state through constitutional and public institutions.
In response, Speaker Ghimire said the matter would now move to parliamentary debate and that further discussion would take place during the House session. He noted that decisions will be made by Parliament itself.
Prior to this, the same group of officials had met with senior political leaders including former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, urging them to remove the clause.
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