DHANGADI: Sudurpaschim Province’s Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment, Rameshwar Chaudhary, has been relieved of his duties.
The provincial cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to dismiss Minister Chaudhary, which has been confirmed by the Chief Minister’s Office.
Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah has retained the ministry under his own portfolio. A few days ago, Shah had asked Chaudhary to resign from his post, but the minister—appointed from the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) on Jestha 4—defied the instruction.
Chaudhary had previously served as Agriculture Minister and had been linked to a controversy involving the collection of money from farmers under the pretext of distributing power tillers at a subsidized rate. Police are currently investigating the case and have arrested several individuals, including Sushila Khadka of Krishna Municipality-8 in Kanchanpur.
Earlier, NUP’s former Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest, and Environment, Lakshmankishor Chaudhary, had also resigned after being implicated in an alleged financial misconduct case related to the preparation of a sustainable forest management directive.
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