KALIKOT, April 3: Irregularities have been found in the construction of a hi-tech nursery built at the cost of millions of rupees in Koregaon located in Raskot Municipality-3 of Kalikot.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a case in a special court against 12 people who are allegedly involved in irregularities by building a hi-tech nursery worth Rs 6.6 and half million.

The anti-graft body  filed a case against the then Acting Head of then Agriculture Knowledge Center (currently Agricultural Development Office) Kalikot, Bharat Bahadur Basnet, the then Engineer of Khadachakra Municipality Sumit Bhatta and another sub-engineer on the charge of misappropriation of the amount of Karnali Province Government subsidy without working as per the agreement. 

The charge sheet of the CIAA states that they recommended operating a high-tech nursery in a place where there is no electricity supply required for the project without conducting a feasibility study. The anti-graft body claimed that despite the recommendation, the cost estimate has been prepared without attaching the necessary generation basis for it, and the price of the equipment purchased for the hi-tech nursery has been inflated heavily.

"When the nursery was not operational after receiving the grant from the Karnali Province Government, it was found that without observing and testing the goods connected by Simnath Krishi Bikas Sahakari Sanstha Limited, they prepared a completed report and paid Rs 6,605,000 on the basis of that report," the charge sheet registered by the Authority states in the special court. .

Basnet, Bhatta and Sanjyal involved in it have been fined Rs 6,605,000. The authority has also demanded another punishment under 19(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 on the charge of committing another offense by preparing a report on the completion of the work of the nursery without testing the goods connected to the cooperative while the nursery is not in operation.

The CIAA has also made the officials of the Evaluation and Selection Committee Hari Prasad Pandit, Sridhar Adhikari, Deepak Kumar Bhandari, Hiranand Devkota, Anup Tiwari, Purna Bahadur Thapa and Homanath Lamsal defendants for the offense of giving a false report.

They are accused of being involved in irregularities by submitting to the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ministry of Land Management, Karnali Province without investigating the wrong evaluation report submitted by Basnet, the then Acting Office Head of Agriculture Knowledge Center.

They have been made defendants in the case involving  corruption. Simnath Agricultural Development Cooperatives, its president Kamal Bahadur Shahi and treasurer Surendra Bahadur Shahi have also been made defendants in the case. 

They have been assured of asking for subsidies for projects that require electricity in places where there is no electricity, making a proposal with false assurances to create a large number of jobs from a plan with no infrastructure even in the absence of institutional financial capability, and not running a nursery as per the agreement.

It is mentioned in the charge sheet that the Agriculture Knowledge Center took Rs 6.6 million subsidy payment against the condition and agreement made by Karnali Province Government by fraudulently taking payment of subsidy amount without creating employment and crop production which was promised at the time of application. 

The CIAA has filed a case against them by keeping the same amount as fine. On the other hand, Engineer Bhatta and another sub-engineer Sanjyal said that the cooperative tried to defame them. In the first year, the Karnali government had built two state-of-the-art nurseries in Kalikot. Currently, no seeds have been produced in those nurseries.

 
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