The Province 2 government has authorised the provincial Public Service Commission to initiate the employee appointment process.

The Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to give authority to the provincial commission for the appointment of employees under technical services—health and engineering.

Though the provincial Public Service Commission was formed a year ago on September 8, 2019, it has remained out of function due to a lack of necessary laws. As per the country’s constitution, the provincial commission can hire officials in the province only after the formulation of the provincial Civil Service Act. But since the federal government is yet to endorse the Federal Civil Service Act, the provincial Civil Service Act remains to be formulated. Constitutionally, the provincial act is to be enacted as per the spirit of the federal act.

The provincial government said it chose to initiate the employee hiring process, as development works in the province have hit a snag and public services were affected due to a workforce shortage.

“People have been deprived of services due to the shortage of employees in the health and engineering sectors. The province is in dire need of employees. The shortage has affected day-to-day administrative work too,” said Gyanendra Yadav, provincial minister for Internal Affairs and Law. He is also the spokesperson of the provincial executive.

“The provincial Civil Service Act is stuck in the Provincial Assembly since the federal government has yet to endorse the Federal Civil Service Act. The provincial government gave the nod to the provincial Public Service Commission to appoint technical employees, as it’s highly unlikely that the centre will endorse the necessary laws anytime soon,” said Yadav.

The commission has been authorised to appoint officials up to the seventh level in health and engineering services in accordance with the existing Civil Service Act 1993.

The Cabinet meeting also decided to post 25 employees at the commission immediately since it has only four employees. Birendra Yadav, secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, has been given the responsibility as the secretary of the provincial Public Service Commission.

The Province 2 government is led by Samajbadi Party Nepal leader Lalbabu Raut. The provincial government claims that it has repeatedly informed the federal government about the need of employees in the province.

“The provincial government had to initiate the employee hiring process since the federal government has failed to take our problems into consideration,” said a government source.

Gangesh Gunjan Jha, the spokesperson at the commission, said the body will now proceed with the hiring process.

“We will coordinate with the central Public Service Commission to prepare an application form to conduct the examinations,” said Jha.