KATHMANDU: The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case of Rs 1.24 billion in a special court against 18 people including Ram Prasad Ghimire, director general of the Department of Mines and Geology and nine cement companies.
According to CIAA sources, the anti-graft body filed a case in a special court on Wednesday against 18 people, including Director General Ghimire, Deputy Director General and spokesperson Jayaraj Ghimire and directors of nine companies, alleging irregularities in mineral extraction.
Among the industrialists sued, Pashupati Murarka, former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), has been charged the largest amount. Murarka’s Siddhartha Minerals Pvt. Ltd. has been charged with Rs. 494.5 million.
Similarly, Bishnu Prasad Neupane of Sarvottam Cement, Sharad Goyal of Maruti Cement, Rishi Agrawal of Annapurna Quarries Pvt., Prabal Jung Pandey of Udayapur Minerals Tech Pvt. , Naresh Dugad of United Cement, Nipesh Tayal of Sonapur Minerals and Oil, Bhim Bahadur Thapa Kshetri of Kanchan Quarries Pvt. Ltd. and Man Bahadur Shrestha of Dolomite Chundhunga Udyog Pvt. Ltd. have been sued by CIAA.
Earlier, a three-member committee formed under the then Deputy Director General (now Director General) Ram Prasad Ghimire from the Department of Mines and Geology on May 28, 2019 had said that 9 different cement industries had exploited the mine and extracted more than the amount specified in the excavation license. It had recommended Rs 1.26 billion compensation (revenue) and action against the nine cement companies.
Later, DG Ghimire had formed another three-member committee under Jaya Raj Ghimjre to probe in the case. Jaya Raj’s committee had reviewed the report and had collected only 1.8 million as compensation (revenue). Growing skeptic on the intention of the second report under Jaya Raj’s committee, CIAA had started the investigation on the same case.