KATHMANDU, Nov 22: Massive irregularities have surfaced in the transfer of 119 engineers and sub-engineers carried out by the Department of Roads (DoR) on Wednesday.
The DoR’s leadership has left division and project offices in remote Himalayan districts without technical staff, while concentrating engineers in Kathmandu and other easily accessible districts.
Meanwhile, officials affiliated with employee unions close to various political parties—many of whom have been stationed in the same attractive offices for more than two years—have not been transferred. They have remained in these postings for years.
In Simikot, Humla—one of the most remote Himalayan districts—the northern section of the Karnali Corridor has only one office chief serving as an engineer. Five engineers and sub-engineers working there have been transferred elsewhere, and no one has been assigned to replace them.
Office chief Bel Bahadur Nepali has been visiting the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) and the DoR’s central office almost daily, requesting the deployment of technical staff. Neither the ministry nor the DoR has responded. With no engineers on the ground, work has come to a halt, but the DoR leadership has still shown reluctance to send engineers to Humla.
161 govt engineers have nowhere to go
Similarly, the DoR’s leadership has not deployed technical staff to offices in other remote Himalayan districts such as Jumla and Bajhang, including those overseeing the northern section of the Seti Highway, the northern section of the Tamor Corridor leading to Olangchung Gola, and the Jomsom section of the Kaligandaki Corridor.
At the same time, employees stationed for more than two years in attractive postings—Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Suryabinayak, and Dhulikhel—have not been transferred. According to senior MoPIT officials, the ministry has taken note of these irregularities.
By regulation, transfers of under-secretary–level officers fall under the respective ministry, while transfers of engineers and sub-engineers fall under the jurisdiction of the DoR. MoPIT officials therefore say the DoR leadership bears responsibility for the irregularities.
“We will hold discussions with the department regarding the lack of engineers in remote Himalayan districts while crowding staff in Kathmandu and other accessible areas,” said ministry spokesperson Ramhari Pokhrel. “We will conduct a serious study on whether there were irregularities in the transfer of engineers and sub-engineers.”
The Civil Service Act and its regulations state that employees should generally be transferred only after completing two years at an office. The DoR’s own guidelines also require rotating staff within two years and transferring only those who have exceeded that period. However, the DoR has violated its own rules.
Eight employees were transferred before completing two years, while the DoR leadership has hesitated to transfer union leaders affiliated with various political parties.
Netra Bilas Paudel, Milan Shrestha, Santosh Chand, Goodluck Katuwal, Anup Paudel, and Shyam Bhakta Shrestha were transferred before completing two years. Durga Prasad and Bindu Adhikari have also been reassigned to the Road Division Bhaktapur. According to a DoR employee, Adhikari is affiliated with the UML, while Durga Prasad’s transfer involved financial influence.
“If union leaders can still manipulate transfers, there will never be reform in this department,” said a senior MoPIT official. Staff stationed in accessible districts have been transferred only to other accessible districts.
Some employees have been transferred between Kathmandu and Lalitpur—Kathmandu to Lalitpur and vice versa—violating the standard practice of moving staff between remote and accessible postings. Among the 119 transferred engineers, 19 have been placed at the DoR’s Bridge Division.
Pramod Khatri, a central member of one of the UML-affiliated unions, has not been transferred from the Road Division Kathmandu, where he has served for more than two years. CPN (Maoist Centre)–affiliated union leader Bishnu Khanal, CPN (Unified Socialist) leaders DB Budha, Birendra Bista, and Gyanman Shrestha, Nepali Congress–affiliated union leader Abinash Karki, and CPN (Maoist Centre) union leader Anita Kolani have also not been transferred.
Shankar Khanal has been placed at the Road Division Bhaktapur, Sajit Sharma at the Road Division Kathmandu, and Prabina Gyawali at the Road Division Pokhara. Similarly, Santosh Sah has been moved to the Bridge Division. “There has been large-scale exchange of money in the transfer of engineers and sub-engineers, and the ministry has also intervened,” a DoR employee said.
