Kathmandu, January 1

The Ministry of Home Affairs is devising necessary laws for restructuring the Nepal Police in line with the country’s new federal set-up.

Schedule 6 of the constitution has authorised provinces to mobilise the police force to maintain law and order. Besides, Nepal Police has also been mandated to provide security in federal jails and citizenship and passport issuing offices and investigate serious crimes.

According to Home Ministry Spokesperson Narayan Sharma Duwadi, the ministry would take the civil servants adjustment model as reference while devising laws for revamping the police. “An office-and-management survey will be conducted after formulating the federal and provincial police act,” he said.

A study carried out by the ministry has shown that at least 15,000 police personnel are needed in each of the seven provinces, and to meet the demand, around 20,000 fresh recruitments have to be made, said a high-level ministry official.

Nepal Police has already set up offices in each of the seven provinces, according to Nepal Police Spokesperson Manoj Neupane. The security agency converted its five regional offices based in each of the five erstwhile development regions into provincial offices, while it added two more — in Dhanusha for Province 2 and in Dang for Province 5.

The provincial police offices are led by additional inspectors general. “Fourteen zonal police offices have also been converted into federal police units,” he said.

The Armed Police Force, however, will remain under the federal government. “The APF will continue its tasks, including border security. But it may also need additional recruitment,” said the Home Ministry’s Duwadi.

The Nepali Army has already established its divisions in seven provinces. The NA too converted its five regional divisions into provincial divisions, and added two more divisions in Dhanusha for Province 2 and in Butwal for Province 5, according to NA Spokesperson Brig Gen Nain Raj Dahal.