Nation»
Irregularity slur on vegetable board
BHADRA SHARMA , MAY 20 -
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) pointed out irregularities and malpractices in Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Management Board (KFVMD).
Following a four-month investigation into alleged irregularities, the anti-graft body in its report said three quotas allocated for farmers in the board were “misused” and “malpractices were rampant”. The probe found that “fake farmers” had occupied the positions reserved for farmers in the board.
Market Development Regulations-2060 has provisioned mandatory representation of three farmers in the 11-member board.
“The investigation shows some fake farmers are included in the Board sidelining the genuine peasants, and anomalies are rampant,” CIAA Spokesman Ishwori Poudel told the Post. “The commission will make public its report within a couple of days.”
The Board includes three members from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), three from entrepreneurs, one from employee union and a local. The commission has consulted with MoAC Secretary Nathu Ram Chaudhary regarding the malpractices at the Board.
Board Director Tulsi Prasad Gautam, Chairman Laxman Pokharel, member Laxmi Datta Awasti, among others, are involved in promoting anomalies, according to the report. Pokharel and Awasti are joint-secretaries at the MoAC.
The CIAA started probe into
the alleged irregularities in the Capital’s largest vegetable and fruit wholesale market more than four months ago. “There is no real
representation of farmers and traders have exercised monopoly in the Board,” said an official involved in the probe.
Former Agriculture Minister Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta had appointed Sanjaya Kumar Das, Lal Kumar Lama and Manoj Kumar Sah as Board members on farmers’ quota. Das is a noted trader in Kalimati, Lama a transport entrepreneur and Sah an inhabitant of Baneshwor.
“The ministry appointed me to the post. Therefore, I do not need to clarify my profession,” Sah told Post when asked whether he is farmer. Gupta appointed Sah to the post for his past cooperation, sources said.
The probe also found irregularities while awarding contract to stalls. The Board has amended by-laws under the Competition Promotion and Market Act-2006 and extended tenure of contracts to 15 years from five years without formal bidding process.
The report has mentioned that thirty-five stalls have been used illegally for the last two years. The Board pays only Rs. 8,000 to the government though its collects over Rs. 50,000 monthly from a trader. The Board is mandated to manage 301 stalls.
Posted on: 2010-05-21 08:10
Headlines
Advertisements
