The State Affairs Committee (SAC) of the Legislature-Parliament has stepped in to resolve the inter-ministerial differences over the transfer of chief district officers (CDOs) and local development officers (LDOs).

A SAC meeting of on Friday decided to summon Minister for Home Affairs Shakti Basnet, Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Kamal Thapa and Minister for General Administration Rekha Sharma to discuss the issue.

The inter-ministerial dispute erupted after Minister for General Administration Sharma turned down the proposal of Minister for Local Development Thapa to transfer 43 officials, including 22 LDOs. But Sharma is learnt to have not objected to Minister for Home Affairs Basnet’s decision to transfer 40 CDOs. This particular move has been viewed as Sharma’s inconsistent approach.

Interestingly, both Sharma and Basnet are ministers in the incumbent government from the CPN (Maoist Centre).

“I worked as per the existing legal provision and government decision [not to effect any transfer decision now],” Minister Sharma told SAC meeting on Friday. “Neither the Ministry of Home Affairs nor the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development consulted [me] before they decided to transfer officials.” Chief Secretary Somlal Subedi a few months ago had issued a circular to not transfer officials at a time when the fiscal year is coming to an end.

During Friday’s SAC meeting, Mahendra Gurung, secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, said his ministry “was seriously concerned about how the transfer issue was leaked to media when it was being discussed by the ministries”.