KATHMANDU, AUG 20 -
In a marked intervention in correcting financial irregularities in the bureaucracy, the caretaker government has decided to freeze over Rs 3 billion that had been transferred illegally by local bodies into non-freezable accounts at the end of the last fiscal year.

Earlier, the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) and Financial Controller General Officer (FCGO) had been asked to submit a report on the issue.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday asked MoLD to circulate a message to all concerned local bodies, including the Ministry of Finance and MoLD to freeze the amount immediately. 

In a joint meeting held at the PMO on Thursday, high-level officials representing the MoF, MoLD, Nepal Rastra Bank and FCGO and National Vigilance Centre (NVC) agreed to freeze the unspent development budget according to due legal process. NVC Executive Officer Tana Gautam urged Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire, Finance Secretary Rameshwor Khanal, FCGO Director Madhav Prasad Ghimire and NRB Deputy-Director Sushil Kumar Arjel to freeze the unspent budget.

Local bodies have sent back a large amount of budget before the fiscal year ended. They have also been found to have transferred the funds into the non-freezable “Account C”, violating the Anti-Corruption Act 2059 and legal provisions relatingt to corruption.

Earlier, FCGO had directed all District Controller Offices (DTCO) to submit details to the NVC of the fund illegally transferred into Account C. Following the directive, only 15 districts submitted their details until Friday.

NVC officials have, however, continued their probe to ascertain whether the details of the transferred budget submitted by the local bodies are accurate. To that end, NVC has deputed two senior accounts officers in Kathmandu and Lalitpur to cross check the validity of documents submitted. “They will check whether the spent budget was used properly or not and the validity of bills received from the VDCs,” said a source.







chronology

    Aug 5: NVC probe reveals Rs 3 billion development budget transferred to Account C.

    Aug 8: FCGO asks DTCOs to submit details

    Aug 18: NVC Chief buttonholes Chief Secretary

    Aug 19: Chief Secretary directs concerned ministries to freeze unspent budget.

    Aug 20: MoF and FCGO told to investigate the issue.

Posted on: 2010-08-21 08:37

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