KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case at the Special Court against 97 individuals, including former Prime Minister and Nepali Communist Party (NCP) co-coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal and Nepali Congress (NC) leader and former minister Dr. Minendra Rijal, over alleged irregularities in the transfer of public land into private ownership through a Cabinet decision.
The anti-corruption body has sought to recover approximately Rs 735 million (Rs 73.5 crore) from the accused as damages.
Those named in the case include former Land Reform Minister Dambar Shrestha and Kamala Ghimire, daughter of former Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire, who went missing in the Trishuli River following a vehicle accident.
The charge sheet also names former Secretary Chhabiraj Panta; former Joint Secretary Ramesh Chandra Adhikari; former Under Secretaries Gandhi Prasad Subedi, Hupendra Mani KC, Nurpati Kandel, Hari Raj Panta, Dr. Arjun Khadka, Laxman Thapa and Dhruva Sapkota; and Section Officer Balaram Niraula.
Other defendants include Rajendra Sharma, former Director General of the Department of Land Management; Director Narayan Adhikari; Under Secretary Baburam Khanal; Section Officer Sitaram Pokharel; and Non-Gazetted First Class Officer Buddhi Bahadur Karki.
What is the corruption allegation?
At the centre of the case is the alleged conversion of public land into private property through a purported land exchange involving Rijal Canning and Company Pvt. Ltd.
According to the CIAA’s charge sheet, the company had initially received an exemption from the statutory land ceiling to operate a fruit-processing industry. However, the company allegedly failed to use the land for the designated industrial purpose and subsequently pursued its transfer under the guise of a land exchange.
The charge sheet alleges that the company obtained an exemption to retain land exceeding the legal ceiling on the condition that it would continue operating its fruit industry. Instead, it allegedly used the land for purposes unrelated to the industry and initiated proceedings to transfer the property.
On June 2, 1975, the then Ministry of Land Reform published a notice in the Nepal Gazette granting Rijal Canning and Company permission to hold land beyond the statutory ceiling in Sunsari and Morang districts, subject to the continued operation of its fruit industry.
However, the company allegedly violated the condition by transferring 10 bighas, 17 katthas and 10 dhurs of land to Rijal Tashi Industries Pvt. Ltd. In 1984.
In 2048 BS, a high-level committee was formed to investigate whether industries granted exemptions from the land ceiling were using their properties in accordance with the stipulated conditions.
Following its investigation, the committee concluded that Rijal Canning and Company had failed to comply with the conditions. Consequently, a decision was made on Chaitra 23, 2048 BS, to confiscate the company’s land. The property was subsequently placed under restrictions prohibiting its transfer.
The District Police Office, Morang, also requested the confiscation of the land, arguing that the company had failed to meet the conditions attached to the exemption and had instead used the property for private purposes. The police office requested that the land be handed over to it.
Similarly, a report prepared by the Land Reform Office, Morang, on Jestha 6, 2062 BS, stated that the company had not used the property for the stipulated purpose and had left it abandoned.
Despite these findings, the CIAA alleges that the Land Reform Office, Morang, decided on Bhadra 12, 2063 BS, to remove restrictions on plots numbered 48 and 71 in Ward No. 3 of Biratnagar Sub-metropolitan City.
According to the charge sheet, the company subsequently sought permission to exchange the land, proposing to surrender 3 bighas, 3 katthas and 1 dhur from plot 48 and 1 bigha, 2 katthas and 8 dhurs from plot 71, covering a combined area of 4 bighas, 5 katthas and 9 dhurs.
In its application, the company claimed that the land had become overgrown with trees and wild vegetation and was being used by local residents to dump household waste and the carcasses of dead livestock. It further claimed that the property had effectively turned into a dumping ground and a gathering place for drug users because it had been left open and unfenced.
However, the CIAA maintains that reports from various government agencies and on-site inspection records established that the company had not used the land for operating the approved fruit industry.
The anti-corruption body alleges that, rather than confiscating the property and restoring it to public ownership, officials from different government agencies colluded to facilitate the proposed land exchange.
On Kartik 15, 2066 BS, the Ministry of Land Reform and Management submitted a proposal concerning the land exchange to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
The charge sheet alleges that the proposal was subsequently advanced to the Cabinet with the involvement of then-Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire and then-Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
On Mangsir 16, 2066 BS, the Council of Ministers decided to refer the proposal to its Social Committee, which was chaired by then-minister Minendra Rijal.
The CIAA has alleged that the process ultimately facilitated the transfer of land that should have been confiscated and retained as public property.
The case will now proceed before the Special Court, where the allegations and evidence presented by the CIAA will be examined. The filing of the charge sheet does not establish the guilt of the accused, whose liability will be determined through judicial proceedings.
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