Prime Minister Sushila Karki has nominated her chief personal secretary, Adarsha Kumar Shrestha, as the chairperson of the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC).

Ram Bahadur Rawal, press coordinator to the prime minister, said Karki, in her capacity as the patron of the NTNC, nominated Shrestha to the post for a five-year term.

Shrestha, a resident of Sindhuli, was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the previous chairperson, Ain Bahadur Shahi.

Under the National Trust for Nature Conservation Act, 1982, the prime minister serves as the patron of the Trust and has the authority to nominate its chairperson. Shrestha holds a master’s degree in sociology and a bachelor’s degree in law.

Soon after assuming office, Karki appointed Shrestha, who had been working in the Supreme Court’s IT Division, as her personal secretary. During Karki’s tenure as chief justice, Shrestha had been involved in managing the court’s cause list.

Based on their long-standing professional acquaintance and trust, Karki later appointed Shrestha, who had been serving as a computer operator, as her chief personal secretary on September 14.

On September 18, just four days after assuming the role, Shrestha appointed his wife, Sangita Shrestha, to the prime minister’s secretariat.

Following criticism from various quarters, Prime Minister Karki later reduced the size of her secretariat to six members.