Six public entities under probe

The National Vigilance Centre (NVC) has set up teams to check several complaints of dubious practices in half a dozen public institutions. Six public entities under probe

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Prithvi Man Shrestha

Published at : March 29, 2018

Updated at : March 29, 2018 13:51

Kathmandu

The National Vigilance Centre (NVC) has set up teams to check several complaints of dubious practices in half a dozen public institutions.

NVC teams are conducting detailed study of Nepal Electricity Authority’s metre installation process, loan disbursement process of the Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund and the implementation of the government’s decision to bar fragmentation of land (Kittakat) by the Land Revenue Offices in Lalitpur and Kalanki, Kathmandu as well as Survey Offices in these locations.

A government body under the direct control and supervision of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, the NVC monitors and checks corruption and promotes public awareness against corruption.

The watchdog monitors irregularities and poor public service delivery by the government officials. It makes recommendations to the concerned government offices and to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority whenever it comes across acts of corruption.

The NVC will also check whether officials resolved complaints of landowners and tillers regarding their disputes at Land Reforms Office in Bhaktapur.

The anti-graft body under the Prime Minister’s Office will monitor whether Tribhuvan University (TU) professors from engineering and science faculties invest enough time to teach students.

NVC Spokesperson Bishnuraj Lamichhane said, “It would require around two months to study, and complete the report.”

The watchdog selected certain tasks of these public offices for studies based on the high number of complaints. It received several complaints on the delays by the NEA officials in distributing electricity meters, said Lamichhane. It received several complaints on the misuse of credits provided by the Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund.

The NVC received many complaints against teachers of the Institute of Engineering in Pulchowk and those involved in teaching in constituent campuses under Institute of Science and Technology, TU, alleging they spend more time abroad than in Nepal.

Although the government prohibits fragmentation of land (Kittakat), the NVC has received complaints alleging officials allow it in return for bribes. The NVC teams are studying records of land revenue offices and survey offices.

The NVC chose Land Reform Office Bhaktapur for study as it received many complaints about government staff taking bribes to settle disputes between the landowners and tillers.

The NVC selects around dozen offices for detailed study every year based on the number of complaints it receives and offices notorious for corrupt practices.

The watchdog selected aforementioned offices in the first phase. It will target more offices shortly, said Lamichhane.

After NVC receives the study reports, it would recommend action against the guilty either through the concerned offices or through the CIAA based on the nature of violations, he concluded.

Prithvi Man Shrestha
Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years.