The National Assembly’s Legislative Management Committee once again failed to reach a conclusion today regarding the mandatory retirement age proposed in the Federal Civil Service Bill.
During the meeting, Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Bhagwati Nyaopane stood firm on the government’s proposal to implement the retirement age at 59 years starting from the first year. Due to her stance, no consensus could be reached. She requested until tomorrow to reconsider the matter and hold further discussions before finalizing it.
Minister Nyaopane said, “Let’s move forward with consensus and flexibility. We need to encourage civil servants to serve the nation effectively, so some level of flexibility is required. We ask the committee members to accept the government’s proposal.”
The committee had earlier unanimously decided under Clause 58 of the Bill that civil servants would retire at the age of 58. Lawmakers criticized the government for trying to reverse an already settled decision.
Lawmakers from the CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN (Unified Socialist) maintained that the committee’s prior unanimous decision should not be overturned.
Unified Socialist lawmaker Dr. Beduram Bhusal questioned why the minister was delaying the matter, insisting that no changes should be made to an already concluded issue. Maoist Centre lawmaker Jhakku Prasad Subedi argued that the committee functions as a “mini-parliament” and should not be directed otherwise, stressing that it was inappropriate to reopen a settled issue. His colleague Taraman Swar even accused the committee of political maneuvering, warning that if the Bill was not passed on time and became ineffective, someone would have to take responsibility.
Committee Chairperson Tulsakumari Dahal said that, at the minister’s request, more time was granted for discussion, and the Bill will be finalized in tomorrow’s meeting. “It is difficult to reach a decision as the minister is not budging and lawmakers are also unwilling to compromise. Either the ministry has to withdraw its stance, or the lawmakers must accept the government’s proposal,” she said.
The next committee meeting has been scheduled for September 2 at 9 AM. (RSS)
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