KATHMANDU, Jan 5: Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLCPA) Kumar Ingnam has intensified surprise inspections at land revenue and survey offices across the country, often posing as an ordinary service seeker to expose irregularities and corruption.
During these inspections, the minister is accompanied by a small team of MoLCPA officials and close aides. On December 24, Minister Ingnam visited the Land Revenue Office in Dillibazar, where he instructed the office chief to curb broker influence and ensure timely service delivery.
According to a staff member from the minister’s secretariat, Ingnam has personally carried out surprise inspections at several offices. In other cases, ministry officials have been sent undercover, visiting offices disguised as ordinary service seekers.
Forest guard caught taking Rs 7,000 in bribe
The inspections gained urgency after a staff member allegedly demanded a bribe directly from Minister Ingnam during one such visit. “Following that incident, the minister took the matter seriously and ordered the transfer of all land revenue office chiefs in the Kathmandu Valley,” the source said, adding that the directive is already being implemented.
The source declined to disclose the identity of the staff member or the office involved. However, the minister is reportedly determined to dismantle broker networks and eliminate bribery at land revenue and survey offices. To support this effort, the ministry has launched a 39-point action plan, which is currently being implemented.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) transferred Madhav Ghimire, chief of the Land Revenue Office, Bhaktapur, and Ashok Bhattarai, chief of the Land Revenue Office, Lalitpur, to the ministry’s additional group. The transfer list was published on the MoFAGA website the same evening—a departure from the earlier practice, when such disclosures were often delayed.
Earlier, Dipendra Khatri, chief of the Land Revenue Office, Chabahil, was also transferred, with Bhojraj Shrestha appointed as his replacement.
Another source close to the MoLCPA said that even before assuming office, Ingnam faced a similar incident at the Bhaktapur Land Revenue Office, where an employee allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 from him. At the time, the office was headed by Kumar Acharya, who has since been suspended following a case at the Special Court.
Reports that Minister Ingnam is conducting surprise inspections in disguise have put employees at land revenue and survey offices on alert. Meanwhile, the MoLCPA has appointed a governance expert to help curb irregularities and implement reforms across these offices.
