Kathmandu – The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Sunday filed a case at the Special Court against 14 individuals and two companies, alleging irregularities in the procurement of cremation machines for the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) crematorium.
Those against whom the case has been filed include PADT members: Member Secretary Milan Kumar Thapa, former Acting Member Secretary Raju Kumar Khatri, former Executive Director Ghanshyam Khatiwada, former Acting Deputy Director Sitaram Risal, Engineers Pashupati Thakur, Denis Upreti, and Ramesh Puri, Accounts Officer Chandra Prasad Khanal, Pulchowk Campus Electrical Department Head Associate Professor Yuvraj Adhikari, PADT Legal Advisor Lain Bahadur Thapa, Map Entrepreneurs Pvt. Ltd. directors Manoj Puri and Yadunandan Bhattarai, and Apple Engineering Professional Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. Managing Director Suraj Chapagain.
According to the CIAA, the state incurred a loss of Rs 103,391,300 (Ten Crore Thirty-Three Lakh Ninety-One Thousand Three Hundred Rupees) in this case. CIAA Spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Paudel stated that the tender was issued in violation of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office’s standards from the very beginning of the procurement process. It is alleged that the tender was designed to benefit Map Entrepreneurs Pvt. Ltd., thereby excluding other competitors.
Accusations include purchasing a cremation machine worth INR 3,250,000 (Indian Rupees) for NPR 15,200,000 (One Crore Fifty-Two Lakh Rupees) and making an advance payment for it. The CIAA claims that irregularities amounting to the full contract value of NPR 103,391,300 occurred.
The CIAA further reported that the purchased machine was found to be of substandard quality, was not maintained, and is currently non-operational.
