Lumbini Province Reduces Number of Ministries to 8

The Lumbini Province government has restructured its administrative setup, reducing the number of ministries from 12 to 8. The decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Chetanarayan Acharya on Wednesday.

According to the new structure, the province will have eight ministries, including the Office of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development will be one of the eight ministries.

Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development, Ratnabahadur Khatri, said that the decision to reduce the number of ministries was made to make the government’s work more effective, organized, and cost-efficient.

Under the new structure, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has been merged with the Ministry of Social Development. The Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Transportation has been abolished, and its responsibilities have been transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law.

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation has been merged with the Ministry of Urban Development. The Ministry of Forests and Environment has been renamed the Ministry of Forests, Environment, and Tourism.

The eight ministries that will remain are the Office of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, the Ministry of Industry and Transportation, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management, and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, the Ministry of Forests, Environment, and Tourism, the Ministry of Urban Development, Energy, Irrigation, and Water Supply, the Ministry of Social Development, and the Ministry of Health.

The cabinet meeting also decided to appoint two senior officials of the Provincial Agricultural Service to permanent positions. Ram Prasad Pandey has been appointed as the Director General of the Agricultural Development Directorate, Rupandehi, and Bhaskar Paudel has been appointed as the Director General of the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Development Directorate, Rupandehi.