Nepal Police spends Rs 2.41billion per annum on rations for its 60,000-strong force. The ration money is distributed among the cops through private contractors who charge, as per financial regulations followed by Nepal Police, up to 12 percent of the agreed amount as a commission margin. [break]
Almost 75 percent of police personnel are found to have received ration money through contractors instead of rations in kind, said a high-ranking official at police headquarters.
“If it is cash that we get, why is it not channeled directly to us together with our salaries?” asks a senior official. “There is no point entertaining contractors any more solely to distribute the money.”
As per the financial regulations that Nepal Police follows, a cop posted anywhere in the country should obtain a rations package of 14 different items. This rule is followed only by around 25 percent of police personnel--around 17,000-- who are posted to 30 different units like companies, battalions and regional training centers that accommodate their personnel in barracks.
Granting of ration contracts to private parties usually lands up in controversy and is often considered a regular source of corruption within the police organization.
The ongoing bidding process for ration contracts for police headquarters and the capital valley has already turned controversial. The process has now been postponed following intervention by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
Police spokesman DIG Bigyan Raj Sharma admitted that the traditional ration contract system needs to be reviewed. “It is not practical for most personnel to receive the ration packages. So there is naturally a tendency to take cash instead.”
“If the contract system is abolished, the amount that contractors have so far been charging as commission margin would go into the pockets of staffers themselves,” he said.
The ration contract system is the easiest source of commissions for senior officials and unit commanders, particularly since the trend of receiving the rations in cash instead of in kind has increased over the years. “Perhaps this is the easiest contract arrangement in the world. All you have to do is get a bulk sum and distribute it among the rank and file for a 12 percent commission,” said police officials.
Republica has found that there are only a few non-gazetted staffers at police headquarters who receive their rations in kind. The rest of the staffers at all 12 units at headquarters and all personnel at the 102 units under the Metropolitan Police Commissioner´s office in the capital valley have been receiving cash. “We have been receiving Rs 1,700 per month,” said an officer at Metropolitan Police Crime Division.
Officials say the ration contract system is only practical for certain remote areas where purchasing of goods is a very difficult task. “Even for units at permanent barracks, the contract system is no longer useful. The staffers can manage their kitchens themselves once they get the ration allowance,” said officials.
Nepal Police witnesses bitter tussles among officials to get posted to the regional training centers, where ration contracts are considered highly beneficial commission-wise.
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