KATHMANDU, JUNE 26

Many civil servants do not improve their conduct and are inclined to violate the existing laws, such as Civil Service Act and Rules.

In a recent surprise inspection and monitoring of government offices conducted by the National Vigilance Centre in Kathmandu valley last week, many civil servants were caught on the wrong side of the law. According to the anti-corruption watchdog under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, as many as 106 employees of 21 government offices were found to have disobeyed the rule of punctuality during the on-site inspection and supervision. They did not attend the office on time without permission of their higher-ups.

Similarly, 13 civil servants were absent from office without getting leave sanctioned. A total of 38 civil servants were not following the dress code prescribed by the government.

A section of civil servants continue to breach the existing legal provisions, which they are required to comply with.

It may be noted that the government provides Rs 9,000 per annum to each civil servant as uniform allowance. The policy was introduced in 2012 to help service-seekers recognise them and maintain consistency in their dress.

Male civil servants are required to wear daura suruwal, coat or dark blue suit with white shirt and tie, while female civil servants are required to wear shirt and pant or saree-blouse or kurta-salwar of dark blue colour.

According to Section 55(A) of the act, if any civil servant is not punctual or becomes reckless and does not abide by the law, the supervisor concerned may give such an employee warning and maintain records regarding it in the sheet roll/personal details file of the employee concerned.

The NVC said it had directed the concerned authorities to initiate action against erring civil service.

The anti-corruption watchdog said it would also carry out regular follow-up to check whether or not the offices take action against the such employees in accordance with the Civil Service Act-1993.

The offices inspected by the NVC were Land Revenue Office (Kalanki), Transport Management Office (Min Bhawan), Survey Department, District Administration Office (Lalitpur), Office of the Company Registrar, Transport Management Office (Bhaktapur) and Department of Forests and Soil Conservation, among other offices.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 27, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.