Nepal's ex-PM Madhav Kumar Nepal booked in land scam case

Kathmandu [Nepal], June 05 : Former Nepali Prime Minister and leader of the opposition Madhav Kumar Nepal has been charged with corruption by the anti-graft agency in connection with an alleged land scam. It is the first time that a former Prime Minister has been booked for corruption in the Himalayan nation.

The anti-graft agency, Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), on Thursday afternoon registered a case against Nepal along with 94 others on the land scam, court officials confirmed to ANI.

"CIAA registered the case at the Special Court on Thursday against Nepal and other defendants," a Special Court official confirmed to ANI.

This is the first time that a Nepali Prime Minister has been charged in a corruption case in the nation's history. The case involves alleged misappropriation of land acquired for a private company under government exemptions for land ownership ceiling.

As per the charges, the anti-graft agency has demanded NRs 186 million from the former Prime Minister.

Madhav Kumar Nepal, now the chairman of CPN-Unified Socialist (CPN-US), while in power on February 1, 2010, had approved the purchase of 815 ropani (1 ropani equals 0.0509 hectares) of land in Banepa, Kavre, under the ceiling exemption for purposes including yoga centres, Ayurvedic institutes, and the herbal industry.

The decision was made through a meeting of the council of ministers led by then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.

The same cabinet meeting also approved the purchase of land under ceiling exemption: 75 bighas (1 bigha equals 0.677 hectares) in Dang, 300 ropanis in Lamjung, 250 ropanis in Syangja, 15 bighas in Chitwan, 25 bighas in Dhanusha, 150 ropanis in the Kathmandu Valley, and 40 bighas in the Bara-Parsa area within five years.

After receiving Cabinet approval, the private company's Nepal Chief purchased 593 ropanis, 5 annas, and 3 paisas of land in the areas of Nasikasthan, Sanga, Mahendrajyoti, and Chalal Ganeshsthan in Banepa.

The decision-making process to grant approval for purchasing land under the ceiling exemption involved then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, then Land Reform Minister Dambar Shrestha, then Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire, then Secretary Chhabiraj Pant, along with other high-ranking officials and employees.

Within a month of receiving approval to purchase land under the ceiling exemption, on February 19, 2010, the company's Chief submitted an application to the then Land Reform Minister Shrestha seeking permission to sell the land acquired under the exemption.

On March 16 of the same year, citing "as per Prime Minister Nepal's instruction," then Minister Shrestha took the proposal to the Cabinet to allow the company to sell the land obtained through the ceiling exemption.

Three days later, the Cabinet decided to approve the sale of the exempted land. However, on March 30, 2010, then Director General of the Land Reform Department, Keshar Bahadur Baniya, sent a letter to the ministry stating that the Cabinet's decision was illegal and could not be implemented.

On April 8, 2010, the Cabinet decided to seek clarification from Director General Baniya, accusing him of challenging the approval given for the sale of land exempted from the land ceiling. The next day, to support the planned sale of the exempted land, Baniya was allegedly removed from his position as Director General, and Joint Secretary Jit Bahadur Thapa of the ministry was appointed in his place.

On the very same day he assumed the role, Thapa sent a letter to the Kavre Land Revenue Office approving the sale of the land exempted from the land ceiling.

On June 25, 2010, the company sold 353 ropani and 15 aana of land to Kasthamandap Business Homes Pvt Ltd. The investigation has also revealed financial irregularities in land transactions.

When the company sold the land in Banepa, the recorded price was NRs 42.25 million. Government records show that the private company later bought 104 ropani, 1 aana, 2 paisa, and 1 dam of land in Dhulikhel for Rs 10.75 million.

Following the registration of the case, the post of Member of Parliament (MP) of Madhav Kumar Nepal has been suspended with immediate effect.

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