Venomous snake farm gets CIAA bite

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case at the Special Court in Kathmandu against former finance minister of Madhes Province Bijay Kumar, the then finance secretary of Madhes province, Prem Kumar Shrestha, Lalbandi Municipality mayor Man Bahadur Khadka and four others in connection with the establishment of a snake venom collection and processing center in the name of Jhalanath Khanal Institute of Health Sciences (presently known as National Health Sciences Foundation). . 

In the fiscal 2020/21, the provincial government had released a budget along with a grant, received from the federal government for the establishment of a center for collecting and processing snake venom for the production of anti-snake venom. 

More than three years into the release of the funds, the anti-corruption agency has blamed the then minister Yadav, Lalbandi Municipality mayor Khadka and others for going beyond their jurisdiction and demanded recovery of Rs 179.8 million along with fine and imprisonment for those involved as per the Corruption Prevention Act 2002.

The CIAA has sought a longer jail term for minister Yadav, citing section 24 of the Corruption Prevention Act 2002, which has stipulated additional years for senior public office-holders involved in such crimes. 

The authority has accused the then finance secretary of the province, Shrestha, of submitting a grant proposal to the Provincial Planning Commission by falsely stating that the foundation had abundant financial, physical and human resources to execute the project. Based on his proposal, the federal government had released Rs 30.27m as supplementary grants to the foundation.

CIAA has demanded that Shrestha be imprisoned for 8-10 years and Rs 30.27m recovered from him along with a fine of more than Rs 10m.

The CIAA has also pointed fingers at president of the foundation Rewati Prasad Pant, General Secretary Navaraj Bhandari, Treasurer Niraj Bhandari and member Devendra Rai. Per CIAA, the foundation’s Chair Pant had signed a partnership agreement with the government to receive government funding in the name of the foundation, which has zero cost sharing in the project, and had withdrawn Rs 179.8m. The agency has accused the foundation’s board of directors of spending government funds contrary to its objectives and approved programs.

The authority has also made the foundation a defendant demanding confiscation of its land in Lalbandi Municipality-1 along with a jeep.