The Bagmati Province government has approved a major restructuring of its administrative machinery, reducing the number of ministries and subordinate offices in a bid to cut operating expenses and improve service delivery.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Thursday decided to implement the revised structure from July 17, limiting the provincial setup to eight ministries and 191 offices. The province had earlier reduced the number of ministries from 14 to eight and has now further cut office-level structures from 201 to 191.

According to government spokesperson and Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Prabhat Tamang, the restructuring was based on recommendations from an organisational and management survey committee.

The government said the overhaul includes scrapping overlapping and temporary offices, merging similar entities, and retaining necessary structures. It expects the changes to significantly reduce expenditure on rent, vehicles, fuel and staff management.

Officials estimate that the move will save about Rs5 billion annually in recurrent spending. The savings are expected to be redirected towards development projects and public service programmes.

Under the new structure, the province will have the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers along with seven ministries: Internal Affairs, Law and Cooperatives; Economic Affairs and Planning; Water Supply, Energy and Irrigation; Physical Infrastructure Development; Agriculture, Livestock, Forest and Environment; Health and Social Development; and Industry, Tourism, Labour and Transport.

In terms of office distribution, the Agriculture, Livestock, Forest and Environment Ministry will oversee the highest number with 60 offices, followed by the Health and Social Development Ministry with 53 offices. The Industry, Tourism, Labour and Transport Ministry will have 27 offices, while the Drinking Water, Energy and Irrigation Ministry will have 20 offices.

The government has also scrapped the Industry, Commerce and Consumer Interest Protection Directorate. The Transport Infrastructure Directorate has been renamed the Infrastructure Development Directorate.