Authority seeks clarification from Ghodaghodi officials over alleged procurement irregularities
Dhangadhi: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has issued a letter of authority seeking clarification from four individuals, including Harish Chandra Dhami, the accounting officer of Ghodaghodi Municipality, and the former Chief Administrative Officer, Deepak Kumar Acharya.
The officials are accused of serious violations during the fiscal year 2080-081, involving agreements with various companies to survey unorganized land at rates four times higher than those of other municipalities. These agreements reportedly contravened procurement regulations, and advance payments were made without securing bank guarantees.
The municipality had partnered with the National Land Commission to survey the land of landless Dalits, squatters, and unorganized settlers. However, it allegedly violated the Public Procurement Act and Regulations by splitting the budget into parts, bypassing the rule against such practices under the same budget heading.
Additionally, Rule 70 of the Public Procurement Regulations 2064 mandates that consultancy services exceeding one million rupees must follow a transparent process, including publishing a public notice and inviting letters of intent with a minimum 15-day response period. Despite these regulations, Ghodaghodi Municipality spent over 2 crore rupees to survey the land in its 12 wards. Instead of adhering to the law, the municipality reportedly split the total cost, exceeding 20 million rupees, into smaller agreements with 12 firms through quotations.
Each ward was allocated over 17 lakh rupees for surveying land measuring one hundred hectares, a cost significantly higher than standard rates. The municipality has already paid for four wards, with sources alleging advance payments of 6 lakh rupees each for the remaining wards, even though the work is incomplete and no bank guarantees were provided.
CIAA Information Officer Devi Prasad Thapaliya confirmed that a detailed investigation is underway to examine these serious allegations.
Dineshkhabar Desk