The sub-committee under Industry, Commerce and Consumer Rights Relation Committee of the Parliament said state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation paid thrice the amount while purchasing land in Jhapa district.

Sub-committee members of the committee inspected the land purchased by NOC to build storage facilities and boost fuel stock at Charali in Mechinagar-13 of the district. NOC has purchased 23 bighas three katthas and 13 dhurs of land in the district.

Inspecting the land, lawmaker Dipak Karki said NOC paid unusually high price to purchase the land. According to records at Land Revenue Office, Jhapa, NOC paid Rs 1.351 million per kattha for the land. However, the land owners received only Rs 440,000 to Rs 450,000 per kattha. Lawmaker Karki said rest of the money was misappropriated.

Another inspecting member and lawmaker Rambir Manandhar said NOC misappropriation was clarified by field inspection of the purchased land.

Land owner Bhupendra Karki said he was tricked into selling the land. "We knew nothing. I sold three bighas of land after they paid Rs 440,000 per kattha for the land that costs Rs 300,000 per kattha," said Karki. Karki said he, however, had no idea on who the buyer was and how much land was being purchased in the area.

The state-owned enterprise has been put under the scanner for alleged misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs670 million while buying land worth Rs1.61 billion in four places: Bhairahawa, Chitwan, Sarlahi and Jhapa.

The corporation had bought 24 bighas of land each in Chitwan and Jhapa districts and a further 20 bighas each in Bhairahawa and Sarlahi districts.

By: Sailendra Adhikari