Sudurpashchim Province Government Reduces Secretariat Staff to Cut Costs

Dhangadhi. The Sudurpashchim Province government has reduced the number of staff members in the secretariats of the Chief Minister and ministers. With the aim of reducing government expenditure, the Council of Ministers meeting amended the rules to downsize the secretariats.

According to the previous rules, there was a provision for 10 staff members in the Chief Minister's secretariat. With the new decision, this number has been reduced to 7.

Under the new arrangement, the Chief Minister's secretariat will now consist of 2 personal secretaries, 1 liaison person for the Kathmandu contact office, 2 office assistants, and 2 drivers. The positions of Information Technology Officer and Administrative Assistant, which existed previously, have now been removed.

For cabinet ministers, the number of staff in the secretariat remains at 5, but there have been some changes in the positions. The position of Administrative Assistant has been removed and replaced with a liaison person.

In the case of state ministers, the previous arrangement of 3 staff members (personal secretary, office assistant, and driver) will continue. The management of office assistants and drivers working in the secretariat will now be handled by the respective ministries.

Along with the staff reduction, the government has also decided to discontinue the personal secretary facility previously provided to provincial assembly members. The Council of Ministers meeting held on Chaitra 15 decided to implement these measures to reduce secretariat expenses. This new rule has come into effect following its publication in the Nepal Gazette.