With the appointment of new ministers, the search for housing has begun for them. Until the Gen-G movement, the ministers' residences were in Bhainsepati, Lalitpur. However, after 26 out of 27 buildings there were damaged during the movement, the search for new housing for the ministers began.

In July 2008, the ministerial residence was shifted from Pulchowk to Bhainsepati. The government had decided to build the residence of the Supreme Court judges and the Chief Registrar in Pulchowk on February 19, 2079. Since the residences in Bhainsepati are not habitable, the government is preparing to house the ministers in Pulchowk. Currently, only one building is habitable in Bhainsepati, in which Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development Sunil Lamsal has started living.

The Ministry of Urban Development has started renovating the three vacant buildings in Pulchowk where the judges are living. The fact that the ministers will be living in Pulchowk has added to the worries of the Supreme Court judges. 13 judges and the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court Bimal Poudel are living in Pulchowk. A Supreme Court judge said that it is not natural for judges and ministers to live in quarters within the same compound, which could affect the administration of justice and raise ethical questions about them. For this reason, some judges had asked Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut on Sunday whether they would move their residences.

Some judges have said that the code of conduct does not allow them to live with ministers. The common practice of not hearing cases of corruption has been going on in the courts. Cases against decisions made by ministers also come to court. The judge said that he is afraid that in such a situation, there will be any impact on the administration of justice.

The judges argue that living in the same residence, meeting and talking while walking, and other behaviors will make it difficult to administer justice. The judge is concerned that their cadres will also come after the minister takes office, and if any wrongdoing occurs, it could cause problems. “The code of conduct of judges also raises questions about living together with the executive. Moreover, when ministers and judges live in the same compound, it does not send a positive message,” said a judge.

Supreme Court Chief Registrar Poudel said that the government has not received information about the ministers being housed in the places where the judges are staying.

There are currently 19 buildings in the Pulchowk quarters connected to the Harihar Bhavan compound. Since three of them are vacant, the government is going to house the ministers in those places for the time being. Since the Chief Justice lives in the residence in Baluwatar and some judges live in their own homes, all the residences in the Pulchowk compound were not used.

After receiving the information from the Ministry of Urban Development to prepare the building, the renovation work was carried out accordingly, said Chakrabarti Kantha, head of the Federal Secretariat Construction and Management Office under the ministry. “No decision has been made as to which minister will live in which ministry,” he said. He said that there has been no decision to remove the judges from the Pulchowk residence and the renovation work has been started to prepare the ministerial residence only in the vacant buildings.

‘Three buildings here will be ready by Tuesday, bids have been invited for the rehabilitation of 11 buildings damaged by arson in Bhainsepati,’ Kantha said, ‘Preparations are being made to invite bids for 15 more, the goal is to complete all the work by Asad.’ Ministerial residences have been built on 96 ropanis and 10 annas. Out of the 27 buildings, only 24 have been allocated for ministers. ‘Since all the other buildings except one need to be restored, the work has been progressed accordingly. The buildings for which bids were initially invited were the most damaged,’ he said, ‘There is less damage in the others, so bids are being invited accordingly.’

Ministerial residences were arranged in Pulchowk on more than 72 ropanis since 2028. In 2028, 14 buildings were constructed to provide housing for ministers. The buildings in Pulchowk are old. Only 5 buildings were built after 2045. In Bhainsepati, one building each has been built for 24 ministers and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the National Assembly. The construction of the ministerial residence began in Kartik 2076 and was completed in Shrawan 2081. The ministers were provided with accommodation before the work was completed. It was built at a cost of 1.346 billion rupees.