Kathmandu, March 26

The government will soon amend the Civil Service Rules, enabling families of civil servants, who die while serving the government, to claim the entire pension amount.

The new provision will have retrospective effect, a minister told THT on condition of anonymity. This means families of civil servants, who had died while in service before introduction of the latest legal provision, will soon be able to seek full pension amount. A decision to this effect was taken in yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, according to the minister.

At present, pension is awarded to government officials who retire at the age of 58 or those who have completed 20 years of service. Once they pass away, their families become eligible for 50 per cent of their pension. Currently, 50 per cent of pension is also provided to families of civil servants who die while serving the government.

The new provision was introduced to benefit the family of Yubraj Dahal, under-secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, who died in Air Dynasty helicopter crash on February 27 in Taplejung district. He was accompanying Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari, who also died in the chopper crash.

Dahal had previously worked as chief executive officer of Khadbari, Ilam and Damak municipalities. KP Sharma Oli had brought Dahal to his office after he became the prime minister, as he was impressed with his performance at Damak Municipality, according to Dahal’s colleague Jeebnath Khanal.

“Since his death, the government has been looking for options to support his family, who is financially very weak,” the minister said. “But there was very little we could do. This is why we have decided to amend the Civil Service Rules.” The Cabinet’s latest decision has paved the way for the Ministry of General Administration and Federal Affairs to initiate the process of amending the regulation. The new provision will benefit everyone hired by the government and the state, including army and police officials.

This, however, is expected to raise the government’s pension liability. The government had recently introduced a contributory pension scheme after spending on retirement benefits started soaring. The government has allocated Rs 46.86 billion for pension expenditure in the current fiscal year, up 34 per cent from the last fiscal year.