80-Year-Old Maheshwarbhakta Shrestha Appointed Executive Chairman of Nepal Airlines Corporation Against Regulations

The government has appointed 80-year-old Maheshwarbhakta Shrestha as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Airlines Corporation. Although regulations stipulate that the executive chief’s age should not exceed 65 years, the government has assigned this responsibility to Shrestha contrary to these rules. Previously, the Supreme Court had annulled the appointments of Shrestha and other directors, but the cabinet has now reappointed him to the executive position.

On 30th Ashad, Kathmandu — The government has appointed Maheshwarbhakta Shrestha, approximately 80 years old, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Airlines Corporation in violation of regulations. In 2049 BS (1992/93), during a sweeping staff reduction under the ‘Cudacarkat Cleaning Campaign,’ Shrestha, then a corporate director, lost his job at the corporation. After 34 years since his retirement from Nepal Airlines, the current government has entrusted him with the corporation’s leadership at the age of eight decades.

According to government spokesperson and Minister of Education Sashmit Pokhrel, Shrestha was assigned the executive role upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Tourism. However, his appointment as Executive Chairman and CEO runs contrary to government procedural rules. The Ministry of Tourism’s ‘Standards for Appointment and Nomination of Members and Officers of Public Bodies, 2073 BS’ requires that the appointed executive chief must have completed at least 30 years of age and not have exceeded 65 years.

Since the Nepal Airlines Corporation Act does not specify any age criteria for the executive chief, a legal expert mentioned that the government should adhere to the procedural guidelines. Despite this, Shrestha was assigned the executive director role contrary to these regulations. Earlier, the Supreme Court had quashed the appointment of five directors, including Shrestha. The Ministry of Tourism noted that on 31st Baisakh, five director committee members were appointed at the corporation, but the appointments were nullified by the Supreme Court. Among those was Shrestha. A writ petition was filed to the Supreme Court challenging the government’s unilateral appointments without following the selection committee’s recommendations.

Upendra Bahadur Karki, the first petitioner on the list, had his writ heard by the Supreme Court, which subsequently annulled the appointments. Nevertheless, the government recently appointed five directors from the eligibility list, and among them, Shrestha was given responsibility as Executive Chairman and CEO, according to Jaynarayan Acharya, spokesperson of the Ministry of Tourism.

“The Nepal Airlines Corporation Act does not clearly specify age criteria concerning the appointment of directors and executives. Accordingly, they were appointed as directors. Since the CEO position in the corporation is vacant, the Cabinet decided to assign the responsibility of Executive Chairman and CEO to one of the directors,” stated spokesperson Acharya.

Who is Maheshwarbhakta Shrestha?
Shrestha has over five decades of experience in the country’s civil aviation sector. Having served for more than two decades at Nepal Airlines, he was removed by the government in 2049 BS while holding the position of 10th grade corporate director. Currently, only employees appointed after his retirement are serving at the corporation because employees retire after 30 years of service or upon reaching 58 years of age. Shrestha retired 34 years ago and has since been active as a consultant.

In 2000, Shrestha authored a book titled ‘Nepalese Aviation and Tourism.’ Until recently, he served as a consultant for capacity development programs at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. He had been preparing proposals for Nepal Airlines to purchase large aircraft (Boeing) for international flights. His involvement in the Boeing purchase plan dates back at least four and a half decades.