Delay in Formation of High-Level Property Investigation Committee Under Balen Shah's Government

Kathmandu. The government led by Balendra (Balen) Shah had decided to form an empowered property investigation committee within 15 days to end the rampant corruption, tendency to hide assets, and impunity in the country. Immediately after assuming office on Chaitra 13, Prime Minister Balen had the Council of Ministers approve the government's 100-point agenda for governance reform during a meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar.

 However, even after the 15-day deadline has passed, the process has not moved forward. Point No. 43 of the agenda, made public by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Chaitra 14, mentioned the inclusion of experts from the fields of law, finance, revenue, and investigation, as well as representatives from relevant agencies.

‘The committee shall include experts from the fields of law, finance, revenue, and investigation, along with representatives from relevant agencies. For this, necessary legal and technical mechanisms will be developed to ensure the entire process is transparent and result-oriented. The committee will be granted powers including the collection, analysis, and recommendation of necessary documents, details, and records,’ it was stated.

In the first phase, it is mentioned that the property details of key political office-bearers and high-ranking officials who held public office from 2062/63 to the present (2082/83) will be collected, verified, and investigated, and in the second phase, the property of officials and employees of the same nature who held public office during the period from 2048 to 2061/62 will be investigated.

It was stated that the investigation process would be conducted based on legal standards, evidence-based, and impartially, and arrangements would be made to implement the reports and recommendations submitted by the committee through relevant agencies.

However, 18 days after the government's announcement, the process of forming the investigation committee has not been completed.  When contacted to understand this, government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel did not pick up the phone. After repeated failed attempts to contact him, when asked, Minister of Information and Communications Dr. Bikram Timilsina expressed ignorance.

‘I do not exactly know where the cabinet's decision-making process has reached. I can only say after I know. It would be clear if this question is asked to the government spokesperson,’ Minister Timilsina told Ratopati.

Chief Secretary Sumanraj Aryal stated that the committee formation process is moving forward. ‘The investigation committee has not been formed yet. The process is underway. It will not take much longer now,’ he said.

Following the political change of 2046, Gen Z youth protested on Bhadra 23, claiming that corruption and misrule had increased during their 34 years in public office. During that movement, 23 youths lost their lives due to repression by the then KP Oli government. In protest, as the nationwide movement intensified the next day, 53 more people died, and public and private property was destroyed by arson. 

The government, which is close to a two-thirds majority and formed by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) which embraced the sentiments of Gen Z, had decided to move forward ruthlessly against corruption and irregularities. Before the election, the RSP had promised in its manifesto to make all property details public before assuming public office. The Prime Minister and ministers made their property details public within 17 days of assuming office.

The property details of the Prime Minister and ministers, made public by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Sunday, have become a matter of interest. Opposition parties have questioned the sources, claiming that the property details of the Prime Minister and ministers of the government formed after the election, which was held on the strength of the Gen Z movement, are unbelievable.