Acting on tipoffs that anomalies are rampant at District Development Committees (DDCs), Village Development Committees (VDCs) and various development related projects in the four Tarai districts of Dhanusa, Mahottari, Sarlahi and Siraha, the national anti-graft body sent out a probe team led by Joint Secretary Bhupendra Prasad Paudel.[break] The team comprises six members.
The team is mandated to probe and sort out problems on the spot, depending on the nature of the irregularities. If the level of corruption is serious, the team will seize the relevent documents, summon the authorities concerned for interrogation and turn back to Kathmandu for further investigations.
"We have deployed a team under a joint secretary to address complaints lodged by various quarters regarding rampant anomalies in the four districts," CIAA Secretary Bhagwati Kafle confirmed.
According to the commission, the team will probe financial transactions undertaken by DDCs, VDCs and development projects in the four districts. Nearly a dozen complaints were lodged at the CIAA seeking the latter´s intervention over alleged irregularities in those districts.
The team has already reached the field with the complaints. Tipoffs lodged at the commission state that millions allocated for social security, including allowances for the elderly, single women, Dalits and some Janajatis, have been misused.
The complaints further state that the budget was grossly misused through tampering with documents. Those involved in corruption reportedly produced fake documents pertaining to those who have already died, according to the tipoffs.
Complaints also show that local mechanisms comprising various political parties have long been misusing budgets allocated for DDCs and VDCs. The probe team will interrogate VDC secretaries and other officials working within the DDCs concerned.
"The local political mechanisms operating under the guise of consumer committees are more responsible for corruption in these districts," the tipoffs further state.
Similarly, government officials and contractors have been accused of tampering with documents, producing fake bills and engaging in corruption over various development-related projects in the four districts.
According to the CIAA, corruption has been rampant in projects involving road, bridge and building constructions, irrigation and public health, among others.
The probe team is also scheduled to investigate irregularities that surfaced at various government schools in the districts. Several government schools have produced fake students, fake teachers and even fake schools to receive budget allocations from state coffers, according to the complaints.
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