18,000 temporary employees of local bodies to lose jobs

Some 18,000 temporary employees working in local bodies are going to lose their jobs owing to lack of budget, according to Minister for Local Development, Rajendra Pandey.

Minister Pandey said at a programme in the capital Wednesday that the Local Development Ministry was preparing to remove 18,000 temporary employees because the revenue collection of local bodies has gone down sharply because of Maoist intervention.

“The local bodies do not have adequate resources to keep the temporary employees. There is no option that to relive them from jobs,” Pandey said. These employees work in District Development Committees, municipalities and VDCs under the ministry.

The Maoists have been collecting ‘tax’ in almost every district, which has caused huge deficit in the revenue collected by the local bodies, he said. Pandey, however, did not explain when the ministry would officially decide to remove the temporary employees.

Last year, the income of local bodies stood at Rs3.53 billion but this year the collection is likely to go down by nearly 50 percent, according to ministry officials. nepalnews.com mk Oct 18 06