Over 3,700 civil servants including three secretaries and 13 joint secretaries have applied for voluntary retirement.
A total of 700 staffers from Kathmandu Valley and 3,048 from outside have applied for voluntary retirement by the end of deadline on Sunday, according to the Ministry of General Administration.
"A total of 3,748 civil servants have applied until now. Most of the applicants are soon-to-retire staffers and those below the officer level," Under Secretary at the ministry Dharma Raj Rokaya said.
Around 22,000 staffers were deemed fit for retirement. There are almost 86,000 civil servants across the country.
The voluntary retirement scheme was offered for those who qualified for pension after completing 20 years of service or are above 50 years. Just 25 percent of the applicants are officers.
The government had given the options of going to the provinces or opting for voluntary retirement after implementation of federalism. The Employees Integration Act 2017 has a provision of voluntary retirement for those who do not want to go to the provinces.
The government will give a one-time payment of remuneration of seven years to those opting for voluntary retirement. The staffers stand to get anything from Rs 1.80 million to Rs 4.20 million depending on their rank.
The government had invited staffers across the country for voluntary retirement on January 12 giving a 45-day deadline.
