Ministries, subordinate offices reeling under staff crunch in Far-West Province

DHANGADI: Various ministries and subordinate offices of the Far-West Province have been facing problems due to the severe lack of staffers.

Numerous works of the provincial government have not been able to pick pace as the staff vacancies have not been filled. The province still has 974 vacancy to fill -- which is half of the total vacancies -- even after the staff adjustment process.

Only 1,337 posts have been filled of the total 2,311 vacancies in ministries and subordinate offices, according to Office of Chief Minister and Council of Ministers (OCMCM) of the Far-West Province.

Forty-four per cent of the positions are yet to be filled in the province, informed Information Officer Jagadish Joshi, adding that highest number of vacant posts are for technical staffs. Among the total vacant posts of 1,316 for technical staff, only 805 have been filled, leaving 511 empty.

According to secretary at the provincial Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Development, Indra Dev Bhatta, only 36 staffers have been recruited among the 55 vacancies, which has hampered the daily functions, budget planning and implementation, and implementation of laws, policies, rules and regulations of the ministry, informed Secretary Kishor Kumar Chaudhary at the OCMCM.

Secretary Chaudhary added that the provincial government has informed the federal government in written while claiming that there are 12 vacant posts in the office itself.

Likewise, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning has 26 posts vacant while Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives has 29 vacant posts, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law has nine, Ministry of Social Development has seven, and Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment has 16 vacant posts.

The Far-West provincial government has already passed the bill regarding establishment of the Provincial Public Service Commission (PPSC), its functions, duties and rights. However, the PPSC has yet to be formed.

As the government has already formed the related Act, homework for the recruitment of staff by the province itself is undergoing.

One-and-a-half years have already passed since the formation of the provincial government.