Kathmandu — The government and ruling parties have withdrawn their stance on reversing the unanimous decision of the Legislative Management Committee in the National Assembly regarding the implementation of the retirement age limit of 60 years for civil servants.

The Legislative Management Committee, in its Friday meeting, had decided that the retirement age for civil servants would be 60 years and that it would be implemented in three phases. According to the provision in Section 58 of the Act, the mandatory retirement age for civil servants will be: 58 years in the current fiscal year, 59 years the following year, and 60 years for all employees one year after that.

Minister for General Administration, Bhagwati Nyaupane, had earlier argued that this arrangement should be reversed and that employees who have reached the age of 59 since the enactment of the law should retire at that age. When the minister demanded that the committee’s decision be overturned, ruling party MPs from Congress and UML also supported her stance.

The committee remained undecided on this matter for two days. However, in Tuesday’s meeting, Minister Nyaupane abandoned her stance on reversing the committee’s decision. She said, “I will not do anything for personal gain. I will not act for anyone’s undue benefit. The support of the employees is necessary. The government should focus on boosting their morale. The decision has been made keeping in mind the welfare of all employees. I had committed that this bill would be passed by both houses in this session, and I am still committed. This bill is important, and there is no personal interest in my position. There is a tradition of going by consensus; let us not break that. We should follow what has been passed by the House of Representatives.”

From the ruling party, Congress MP Krishna Prasad Sitoula agreed to move forward according to the government’s proposal. He stated, “Regarding the debate on mandatory retirement age in the Civil Service Bill, the Minister for General Administration said we should accept the age passed by the House of Representatives and proceed. If the committee accepts the minister’s proposal, the mandatory retirement for employees will be implemented as follows: first year – 58 years, second year – 59 years, and from the third year onwards – 60 years.”