Kathmandu, February 26

Following the 45-day notice of the Ministry of General Administration issued on January 30, the number of civil servants opting for voluntary retirement has reached 4,462.

MoGA had proposed voluntary retirement for employees who did not want to be adjusted in the local levels. Employees who have reached the 50 years of age and those who have served for more than twenty years have been asked to apply for the voluntary retirement programme. The number might increase as the ministry will be collecting data from various district offices till March 3.

According to MoGA, there are around 22,000 employees that meet the criteria to apply for voluntary retirement. Of the total applicants, 3,762 are from the district offices, while 711 are from various ministries.

Secretary at MoGA Shankar Prasad Koirala said, “Employees who have opted for voluntary retirement will have to report to duty until the ministry asks for their resignation and accepts the resignation.” Koirala also said they had not yet decided when to ask for the resignation of employees opting for voluntary retirement.

The Under-secretary at MoGA Suprabha Khanal Dhungel said they introduced the voluntary retirement scheme considering the reluctance shown by elder civil servants to be adjusted in local levels. “As we have provided the best possible options to employees who were reluctant to serve as demanded, we will now take strong action against those civil servants who do not report to the work stations they are deployed to.

Among the 4,462 employees, there are three secretaries who have also opted for voluntary retirement. Secretary at Land Reform and Management Sambhu Koirala and secretaries at Federal Parliament Secretariat Bhimlal Dawadi and Birendra Karki have opted for voluntary retirement.

According to Under-secretary Dhungel, although the scheme is likely to add financial burden on the government, it will provide an opportunity to fresh and enthusiastic candidates to serve the nation as civil servants.

Employees who choose voluntary retirement will be provided with money equal to their seven years’ salary as per the existing salary scale.