Appointments at Lumbini Development Trust Made Illegally, Bypassing Established Procedures

It has been revealed that appointments at the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) have been made by creating a post equivalent to a Gazetted Special Class (Secretary) level position through a ministerial-level decision, in violation of the law.

Administrative regulations stipulate that the creation of a Secretary-level post, approval of its staffing, and determination of service conditions can only be done through a Cabinet decision based on the formal recommendation of the concerned organization.

However, contrary to this rule, the then Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Bhim Acharya, in the government led by Sushil Koirala, created a Secretary-level post at the Trust.

The then Minister Acharya amended Chapter 6 of the Trust's Official Regulations 2058 in 2071 BS, creating the position of 'Project Chief' and facilitating an appointment.

The amended provision stated that the Minister, in their capacity as the Chairman of the Trust, would nominate the Project Chief, and the service benefits would be equivalent to those of a Gazetted Special Class (Secretary).

LDT Member Secretary Engineer Deepak Shrestha admitted that the creation of the Project Chief post was not in accordance with the law. "The process for creating the Project Chief post is not legally sound," Member Secretary Shrestha told Ratopati. "The authority to create a post and make an appointment is determined by the designation; this is not evident in the Project Chief appointment."

Nepalese law states that the creation of posts equivalent to Secretary and Joint Secretary can only be done by the Council of Ministers based on the recommendation accompanied by the organization and management survey report of the concerned body. Here, the Minister, in their capacity as the Chairman of the Trust, created a Secretary-level post.

The required educational qualifications for appointments equivalent to Secretary and Joint Secretary were not specified. Member Secretary Shrestha stated that the creation of the post was not published in the gazette as required.

The law requires that the Trust's Board meeting decide that the post is necessary based on the organization and management survey report, recommend it to the Council of Ministers, and upon the Council of Ministers' decision, it must be published in the gazette. However, it was found that the decision was made by the then Minister Acharya in their capacity as Chairman, not by the Council of Ministers or the Board.

Member Secretary Shrestha stated that the process for the Project Chief appointment was procedurally flawed. "The process that should have been followed for creating the post was not adopted," he said.  

The then Minister Acharya amended the Trust's Official Regulations, 2058, by adding Chapter 6 to provide for the Project Chief. When the new Chapter 6 was added, the old Chapter 6 was not removed. This has created confusion over whether to follow the old Sections 19, 20, and 21 or the new ones.

According to Member Secretary Shrestha, the issue has been raised in Board meetings that the appointment is illegal because the Board meeting should have decided to scrap the old chapter and recommend the new one to the Council of Ministers for addition, but instead, the Minister made the decision, it was not decided by the Board, and it was not published in the gazette.

Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Spokesperson Joint Secretary Jayanarayan Acharya confirmed that the issue of the Trust's Project Chief appointment was raised in a Board meeting held a few days ago. "The issue of creating the Project Chief post and the appointment was raised in the Trust's Board meeting held a few days ago," Spokesperson Acharya told Ratopati. "It might be appropriate to determine whether the post is necessary by conducting an organization and management survey and making a decision procedurally, but adding it to the regulations stating that it will have service benefits equivalent to a Secretary without following the procedure does not seem appropriate."

The Trust initially appointed Iman Singh Muktan from Bhandara-1, Chitwan, on a two-year contract as Project Chief on Jestha 24, 2071 BS, through a decision at the level of Vice Chairman Karma Sango Sherpa. At that time, he was to be provided service benefits equivalent to a Joint Secretary. Two months later, the then Minister Acharya provided Muktan with another appointment on Bhadra 27, 2071 BS, by amending Chapter 6 of the regulations, deciding that the service benefits would be equivalent to a Secretary.

Subsequent governments have continued this illegal practice. After Muktan's five-year term ended, the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' also continued the illegal act committed by the then Minister Acharya.

During the Prachanda-led government, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation appointed Smita Bhatta from Bhimsen Thapa Rural Municipality-1, Gorkha, for a five-year term on Poush 1, 2080 BS. While Muktan was nominated by the Trust initially, Bhatta was appointed directly by the Ministry.

The Office of the Auditor General raised an audit objection regarding Bhatta's service benefits, leading the Trust to seek an opinion from the Ministry. The Ministry, in turn, sought an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General regarding that opinion.

Ministry Law Undersecretary Navaraj Acharya informed that the issue regarding the regulations is being discussed. The Ministry has not yet finalized what to do about the appointment made by adding a chapter to the regulations. "What should be done about the post created by making provisions in the regulations? Whether it is permissible to create a post equivalent to a Secretary in the regulations is still under discussion," Law Undersecretary Acharya told Ratopati.