Kathmandu: A corruption charge sheet has been registered against six officials, including Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Pradeep Adhikari and then Director Murari Bhandari. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed the charges, implicating the officials and Abhiyanta Consulting Pvt Ltd in causing significant loss to public properties.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the CIAA’s investigation concluded that there were substantial irregularities and breaches of legal provisions during the Nalinchowk Heliport construction process. The anti-graft constitutional body has filed a corruption case, citing violations of the Corruption Act against Director General Adhikari, Murari Bhandari, Nal Bikram Thapa, Samriddi Shrestha, Gurudutta Adhiakri, and Bijaya Thapa, manager of Abhiyanta Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
The charge sheet alleges that corruption occurred through regulation breaches at every stage, from the selection of consultants to the preparation of the study report, resulting in a loss amounting to Rs 135.7 million. The commission highlighted that the process for constructing the heliport was maliciously advanced without conducting the mandatory feasibility study. They noted that technical and financial proposals were requested without legal approval, inexperienced consultant firms were collusively selected, and the procurement process was carried out without a detailed project report.
It is further alleged that Engineer Samriddhi Shrestha and former Director Murari Bhandari proceeded with procuring consultancy services by preparing a cost estimate without conducting an actual study after approving the heliport feasibility study. The commission stated that the construction process was advanced without obtaining necessary specifications, plans, design, procurement master plan, annual procurement plan, and budget approval as required by the Public Procurement Act and Regulations.