• Deputy Mayor Khadgi says Mayor Shakya took the decision without consulting her

Kathmandu, November 1 Kathmandu Metropolitan City has reshuffled the heads of its various departments and divisions. There are 14 departments, more than two dozen divisions and some units under the KMC. Only the heads of  newly formed agriculture, cooperatives and public private partnership departments were not transferred. A department head, on condition of anonymity, told THT that reshuffling of a large number of high level employees could be counterproductive. “This indicates that the mayor wants to control all regular activities of the local body.” A majority of transferred officials said they had not served more than a year in a single department. Some departmental heads said the rejig was a regular process and not a cause for concern. However, Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi expressed dissatisfaction with the massive rejig, “The mayor has taken an arbitrary decision. He should have held discussions with employees and sought their suggestion before taking the decision,” she said, adding that many of the officials had served for less than a year in their respective departments and divisions. Deputy Mayor Khadgi also claimed that she learned about the transfer of officials from media reports. “I don’t understand why the mayor doesn’t like to consult me while taking such major decisions. This is not the first time he has excluded me,” she added. “I have transferred employees loyal to you to nice departments, so you need not worry much,” Khadgi quoted the mayor as telling her. Urban Health Management Department chief Hari Kumar Shrestha, who has been transferred to Environment Management Division, said, “An employee cannot work effectively if she/he is frequently transferred. One should get at least a few years to work in one department for effective results.”