Government proposes reducing federal ministries to 17, plans to abolish four

Kathmandu: The government has proposed reducing the number of ministries under the federal government to 17. According to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the proposal includes abolishing four ministries.

If implemented, the ministries of Youth and Sports, Urban Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Federal Affairs and General Administration will no longer exist as separate entities.

The government led by Balendra Shah had decided to reduce the number of ministries as part of its 100 tasks to be completed within 100 days. A task force formed to implement this decision has prepared a list of ministries to be abolished and merged.

A five-member task force coordinated by Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Govinda Bahadur Karki has proposed maintaining 17 ministries at the federal level. The task force includes joint secretaries from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the Chief of the Law Division of the Prime Minister’s Office, and a joint secretary serving as member secretary.

According to the proposal, sanitation responsibilities under the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation will be merged with the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Drinking Water will be merged with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure to form a unified Ministry of Physical Infrastructure.

Similarly, the Ministry of Youth and Sports will be divided into two clusters and merged with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women. The sports sector will be integrated into the Ministry of Education, which will be renamed the Ministry of Education and Sports. A new Ministry of Gender Equality and Social Development is proposed by incorporating youth, population, and social security functions into the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens.

The task force has also proposed transferring transportation responsibilities under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure to the Ministry of Labor and merging the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration with the Office of the Prime Minister.