KATHMANDU: The government Friday made some important appointments and promoted 22 joint-secretaries to the post of secretary.

The cabinet meeting decided to appoint secretary of Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction Madhav Prasad Ghimire as chief secretary of the government. He had become secretary on September 7, 2005. The meeting decided to transfer Secretary Umesh Prasad Mainali to the President’s office.

The meeting decided to reinstate Bijaya Nath Bhattarai as the governor of Nepal Rastra Bank as per the July 15 decision of the Supreme Court. The incumbent governor, Dipendra Bahadur Kshetri, has been pensioned off w.e.f. today, as he was appointed to the post by the Maoist-led government ‘until a decision was taken in Bhattarai’s case’, said a cabinet source. Maoist-led government had appointed him to the post. “I am waiting for official version,” he said in a brief reaction to the cabinet decision. The incumbent chief secretary Bhoj Raj Ghimire, who is scheduled to retire on August 4, has been appointed ambassador to Canada. Sushil Chandra Amatya, former CPN-UML Constituent Assembly member, has been appointed the ambassador to Sri Lanka. A special committee has been formed to control the rising prices and black marketeering in coordination of Yuvaraj Khatiwada, NPC vice-chairman.

Cabinet decisions

• Bijaya Nath Bhattarai

reinstated Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank

• Bhoj Raj Ghimire

appointed the

Ambassador to Canada

• Sushil Chandra Amatya appointed the

Ambassador to Sri Lanka

• Special committee formed to bring down skyrocketting prices