KATHMANDU, Feb 20: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against 19 individuals, including eight forest officers from Kapilvastu, accusing them of corruption by exceeding the permitted amount of tree cutting.
The CIAA has filed a case at the Special Court claiming that the Gautam Buddha Partnership Forest Management Committee committed corruption by allowing the cutting down of an excess amount of trees beyond the authorized limit.
Local unit against DFO over resource extraction
The corruption case has been filed against former District Forest Officer (DFO) Krishna Dutta Bhatta, Divisional Forest Officer Durga Bahadur Karki, Gautam Buddha Partnership Forest Management Committee Implementation Unit Coordinator and Forest Officer Mahendra Raj Wagle, Assistant Forest Officer Brahma Dev Mahato, and Ranger Hemraj Pandit.
According to the CIAA, the illegal cutting of wood has resulted in a loss of Rs 2.9 million to the state coffers.
