Melamchi Project: Corruption case filed against 18

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Sunday registered a corruption case at the Special Court against 15 people, including three former secretaries, for their alleged involvement in irregularities on the Melamchi Drinking Water Project, a national pride project.

The CIAA said that the graft case was filed after it was revealed that the construction company, CMC, had received payment prior to carrying out the construction works relating to the project.

The anti-graft body has recommended that former secretary Sanjay Sharma and Joint-Secretary Mukunda Prasad Poudel pay a fine of Rs 60m each. It has also sought Rs 40m in penalty from erstwhile secretary at the Ministry of Water Supply, Bhim Prasad Upadhyay and Rs 600m from Gajendra Kumar Thakur, erstwhile secretary at the same ministry. 

Over Rs 110m has been claimed in fine from Rudra Singh Tamang, erstwhile board member of the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee.

The CIAA has also recommended a fine of Rs 710m from Chandra Bahadur Thapa, former board member of the committee, and Rs 220m from Ghanashyam Bhattarai, former executive director of the committee.

The commission has recommended a fine of Rs 323m to Ram Chandra Devkota, former executive director of Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee. Another former executive director, Surya Raj Kandel, has been recommended a fine of Rs 890m.

The other accused in the case are the then Under Secretary Mani Bhadra Neupane, Accounts Officer Ram Chandra Neupane, former Under Secretary Beg Nath Poudel, former Under Secretary Kedar Prasad Aryal and Committee’s Deputy Executive Director Bhoj Bikram Thapa.

The CIAA has recommended a fine of Rs 323m each to Mani Bhadra, Ram Chandra, Poudel and Thapa. Aryal has been asked to pay a fine of Rs 447m.

Likewise, Deputy Team Leader Shiva Kumar Sharma of consulting firm Eptisa-BETS JV has also recommended a fine of Rs 483m.   

The CIAA has sought Rs 875m in fine from a consulting company Eptisa Services De Ingenieris SL and BETS Consulting Services Ltd JV. Construction firm CMC di Ravena has been asked to pay a fine of Rs 651m.