Bagmati Province Government Faces Challenges in Ministry Integration

Makwanpur. It has been almost three weeks since the Bagmati Province Government reduced the number of ministries from 14 to 8 with the aim of reducing administrative expenses and improving performance. However, at the administrative level, the structure of 14 ministries still exists. Although 8 ministers have taken charge politically, the ministries have not yet been integrated administratively and physically. Due to the inability of the scattered ministries before July 1 to provide integrated services, a situation has arisen where the ministry is the same but the office and secretary are separate. Specifically, although the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest, Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Transport, and Ministry of Social, Health and Sports and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Cooperatives have been merged, their performance is the same as before. The main reason for the ministries not being able to integrate is seen as a struggle for administrative power. Even though the provincial government has reduced the number of ministries, separate secretaries have been in charge of these ministries until now. The secretaries are reluctant to integrate as they fear losing their existence and authority after the new structure comes into effect from July 1. This has also created confusion in service delivery. The employee mechanism has been evading the instructions given by the Chief Minister's Office from time to time. According to the new structure, the former Ministry of Forest and Environment has been merged with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry to form the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Forest and Environment. However, the Ministry of Forest located in Hetauda-2 and the Ministry of Agriculture located in Hetauda-1 are still operating from their old buildings. There are still administrative hurdles in bringing these two ministries, which have different service areas, together. The secretaries of both ministries are not interested in working in the same place. As a result, the minister is forced to have two offices and travel to two different locations. Minister Urmila Nepal, who is in charge of that ministry, had also assumed office by visiting both ministries. The former Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Transport were merged into the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Land and Administration to form the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Labor and Transport. However, the Ministry of Industry located in the Chief Minister's Office complex, the Ministry of Transport located in Hetauda-1, and the Ministry of Tourism located in a rented house in Hetauda-4 are working in parallel. Secretaries and employees from all three sectors are working in their old structures, and the concept of an integrated ministry is limited to paper. From July 1, the government has merged the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Youth and Sports into the Ministry of Social Development to form the Ministry of Health and Social Development. However, its physical condition is even more scattered. The Ministry of Health is near Bhutandevi School in Hetauda-4, while the Ministry of Social Development is in Hetauda-10, TCN, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports is in Hetauda-6 Gauritar. No concrete initiative has been taken to bring the ministries located in three different places to one location. The Ministry of Cooperatives, located in the Chief Minister's Office complex, has also not been merged with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Both ministries are working with separate administrative existence. Although the number of ministries has been stated as 8 for 22 days, in practice, 14 secretaries and 14 administrative structures are working. The integration of ministries has led to delays in decision-making, double administrative expenses, and problems in employee management. Although the Chief Minister's Office has repeatedly instructed all ministries to provide services from a single location, the secretaries have been avoiding it by citing lack of physical infrastructure and technical difficulties. The problem of work division has also arisen due to the presence of two or three secretaries in the same ministry at the administrative level. Employees are facing competition and lack of coordination among themselves regarding who reports to whom and how files should be processed. Although a major decision was made politically to reduce the number of ministries, the government appears to have failed in the administrative determination and physical preparation required for its implementation. Due to the scattered ministries and the unwillingness of employees to integrate, the institutional structure of the provincial government has not been able to move forward as per the decision.

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