The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has concluded its long-running probe into the construction of the Nalinchowk Heliport, filing corruption charges against seven individuals, including the Director General (DG) of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Pradeep Adhikari, and former Director Murari Bhandari.
The anti-graft body alleges that the officials violated procurement laws and bypassed due process, resulting in a collective loss of Rs 135.75 million.
Key allegations and charges
The CIAA's investigation concluded that the construction work was initiated with malicious intent, bypassing fundamental legal procedures.
The decision to proceed with the Nalinchowk Heliport was made on April 11, 2022, even though the project had not been included in the approved annual program and budget for the fiscal year 2078/79 BS. This directly contravenes Rule 6 (1) of the Public Procurement Regulation, 2064, which prohibits initiating procurement without an allocated budget.
The consultant never submitted the detailed study report required under the agreement. However, officials allegedly colluded to procure an incomplete and flawed Detailed Project Report (DPR) and approved bid specifications lacking “objectivity and scientific basis,” in violation of Section 4(1) of the Public Procurement Act, 2063.
The investigation found that officials, including DG Adhikari and Director Bhandari, approved the process based on an engineer's recommendation on April 11, 2022. The procurement master plan was drafted only two days after the unusually high cost estimate of Rs 175.4 million had already been prepared and approved.
The CIAA claims the defendants knowingly moved ahead with awarding the contract before the CAAN Board of Directors or the government had approved the program and budget, thereby misleading the governing authority. The CAAN Board of Directors only passed a budget of Rs 150 million on July 24, 2022.
Furthermore, reports from experts indicate that the heliport is currently non-operational for commercial flights due to a lack of required infrastructure.
The defendants
The charge sheet names seven individuals including Pradeep Adhikari, Director General, CAAN, Murari Bhandari, former Director, CAAN, Nalbikram Thapa, Former Deputy Manager/incumbent Manager, CAAN, Sambriddhi Shrestha, Former Senior Officer/Current Deputy Manager, CAAN, Guru Dutta Adhikari, Consultant, Abhiyantra Consulting Firm, Bijay Thapa, Former Director of Abhiyantra Consulting Form.
The CIAA has established that the state-level officials abused their authority in collusion with the consulting firm.
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