Kathmandu. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against 12 persons, including Bharat Kumar Thapa, the mayor of Bagmati Municipality in Sarlahi district.
YOG has filed a charge sheet at the Special Court on the charge of misappropriating revenue of Rs 586.2 million through illegal excavation of land belonging to Sagarnath Forest Development Project in Sarlahi. Thapa had come into the limelight by digging sand on public land in Sarlahi and constructing artificial lakes on the potholes.
The CIAA has accused the CIAA of embezzling 4,700,285.17 cubic meters of forest products (stones, pebbles, sand) in the pretext of constructing fish ponds on the land managed by the project without taking royalty as per the prevailing forest regulations. According to the CIAA, the defendants have embezzled Rs 586,214,658 in the excavation and sale of 7,38,93,508.94 cubic feet of forest produce.
According to the formation order issued by His Majesty’s Government and the notification published in the Gazette, the forest area falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government. However, the investigation revealed that Thapa, who had won the mayoral post on behalf of the CPN (Maoist), had taken the decision on behalf of the municipality by encroaching on its jurisdiction.
The municipality on March 15, 2018 had decided to construct a multi-purpose fish pond on around 150 bighas of land owned by the Murtiya Forest Management Section at wards 4 and 12. Although the project had directed to stop the construction of the pond, Mayor Thapa had illegally constructed physical infrastructures including roads, multi-storey concrete buildings.
The anti-graft body has sought punishment along with fine, fine and fine on deputy mayor Leela Kumari Moktan, then chief administrative officer Bimal Kumar Pokharel, accounts officer Bishworaj Pokharel and engineer Sagar Poudel.
Likewise, the Commission has also filed a case of fine, imprisonment and fine against the then chiefs of Sagarnath Partnership Forest Project Bishal Ghimire, Devesh Mani Tripathi, Ram Kishor Yadav, Premi Lal Prasad Kalwar, Jitendra Karmacharya and Assistant Forest Officers Chandra Kumari Shrestha, Shivendra Prasad Chaudhary and Bhola Yadav.
