Koshi Province Government to Release Pending Salaries for Secretaries of Provincial Assembly Members

Biratnagar. The Koshi Province government will pay the withheld salaries of the secretaries of the provincial assembly members in a lump sum. The secretaries, who had received their salaries and benefits until last October, had been working without pay for the past 9 months.

The provincial government's cabinet meeting on Monday decided to regularly pay the salaries of the provincial assembly members' secretaries from the date they were withheld. The government's Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, Bidur Kumar Limthep, informed that their appointments could also continue to be valid.

Following the Janji movement on August 23 and 24, the then federal government's Finance Minister Rameshwar Khanal, leading the Sushila Karki-led government, had sent a letter requesting the removal of the secretaries of the members of parliament, after which the secretaries were deprived of salary and benefits.

Koshi Province members of parliament have been raising the issue of paying the salary and benefits of secretaries in almost every parliamentary session and internal party meetings.

According to Schedule-2 related to Section 8 of the 'Provincial Assembly Office Bearers and Members' Salary and Facilities Act, 2075' passed by the Provincial Assembly, there is a provision for providing secretaries to the members of the Provincial Assembly. However, while this provision was being implemented, the federal government's Ministry of Finance issued a circular on October 7, 2082, stating '...to abolish the facilities of secretaries of political office bearers including members of parliament, except for ministers of the federal and provincial governments'.

After receiving this letter from the center, the Provincial Assembly Secretariat, citing ambiguity in salary payment, sought opinions from the Ministry of Economic Affairs at times and passed the responsibility to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Law at other times.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Law of Koshi Province sent a letter to the Provincial Assembly Secretariat on January 8, 2082, stating that a decision had been made to implement the provisions of the Act and sending it. However, even with that decision, the issue of paying the secretaries' salaries and benefits could not be implemented.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, in its letter dated January 28, 2082, had given the opinion that this matter should be decided by the Provincial Cabinet. Due to this back and forth, the secretaries of the 83 members of the Koshi Province Assembly had not received the benefits stipulated by law.

According to statistics, in the last fiscal year alone, 3 crore 74 lakh 76 thousand 330 rupees were spent in Koshi Province in the name of secretaries. While the center has been pressuring to cut this item, calling it unproductive expenditure, the provincial members of parliament have been claiming that their legal rights cannot be taken away. Currently, there are 92 members in the Koshi Province Assembly. The secretaries of the 79 members, excluding ministers, will now receive the lump sum amount for salary and benefits.

According to the Parliament Secretariat, the salaries and benefits of the members' secretaries have not been paid since last Kartik. According to provincial law, the salary of a member's secretary is at the level of a Nayab Subba (fifth level).

According to the same provision, each secretary will receive approximately 3 lakh 12 thousand for the remaining 9 months until Asar, as stated by the Parliament Secretariat. The secretaries of the Chief Minister, ministers, Speaker, and Deputy Speaker have been receiving their salaries and benefits. The salary payment for the 79 secretaries, excluding them, will be 2 crore 46 lakh rupees.