With the cabinet meeting on Friday approving the Civil Servants Welfare Fund Regulations-2072, the welfare fund will now be set up to provide financial support to government employees for medical treatment and other purposes.The government will cut 0.5 percent of the salary of the government employees on a monthly basis and deposit it into the welfare fund.
Baburam Adhikari, joint-secretary at the Ministry of General Administration, said the fund will provide financial support of up to Rs 1 million each to government employee for treatment of chronic diseases like cancer, heart and kidney-related ailments.
"To collect money for the fund, the government will also deposit 5 percent of the travel allowance provided by the government to employees going to foreign countries for official works," said he.
As of now, government employees get up to Rs 500,000 for treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart diseases.
Bishnu Hari Upadhaya, under-secretary at the Ministry of General Administration, said that the government will also provide money from the fund to needy government employees for the education of their children.
Likewise, the ministry has also planned to provide Rs 300,000 each to the families of 21 government employees who lost their lives in the April 25 earthquake from the fund.
"Following the cabinet's approval, the regulation will now be published in the Nepal Gazette shortly, which will pave the way for instituting the fund officially," said Upadhaya. He said that the welfare fund will be established within this month and the government will start depositing money from the employees' salary. He said that a committee led by secretary of the ministry will be in-charge of the welfare fund.
According to MoGA, there are approximately 75,000 government employees across the country.
Welfare funds have been set up by the Nepal Army, the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Police long ago, but no such fund has been set up for civil servants.
Similarly, the cabinet also approved the ministry's proposal to integrate employees under miscellaneous services special group into the general administration group of the ministry.
Likewise, the cabinet also decided to promote Krishna Giri to the Special Class post at the Judicial Council Secretariat and Shreekanta Poudel to the Special Class post of Registrar of the Supreme Court.
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