Govt cracking down officials for misusing dev funds

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Lalitpur, March 17

Under pressure from several donors, the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) has begun to crack down on Local Development Officers (LDOs) in about 30 districts, owing to misuse of development funds and poor performances.

The Ministry action is coming into effect after the warning of donor agencies to stop assistance if the corruption continues in the local bodies. Some Rs 11 billion is supported annually by the donor agencies for the MoLD.

"The donor agencies have questioned on the use of development funds and mechanism to check corruption in local bodies," said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoLD. "The major donors have raised serious concern over the performances in the local bodies and warned us to end corruption for further assistance," he told THT.

The MoLD is taking action against half a dozen LDOs among 30 of them for involving in misuse of development funds in the districts. Unaudited budget in MoLD and 75 District Development Committees accounts to about Rs 2.72 billion, which is, according to the ministry, unlikely to be recovered as it was misused in any way.

There are 75 LDOs assigned in 75 DDCs across the country. The Civil Service Act provisions a transfer of a staff who serves two years in an office to another office. MoLD is transferring some 10 LDOs who served in a district for two years to other districts while about 20 LDOs who have served less than two years are also being transferred as an action.

Some transfers are regular while others are actions for their performances, said Prem Prakash Uprety, under-secretary at the MoLD. "However, there are various reasons behind the transfer of the LDOs," he said.

Engineer Shyam Sundar Mishra, acting LDO of Bara district has been suspended for the embezzlement of development funds by distributing recklessly while Umesh Basnet, former LDO of Bara is likely to be suspended for exempting about Rs 15 million of revenues to certain groups illegally, according to the MoLD sources. "Other few LDOs including of Rupandehi and Banke are also being taken similar action," Uprety said. "Number of such staff may increase upto half a dozen."

Some LDOs were found distributing district budgets to different political parties and their sister organisations. Those who are recorded with good performances have been transferred to the low performed districts to improve the situation. "The proper persons are being relocated in proper places," he added. "We will publicise details in a few days."

Some are transferred on the basis of biasness and political influence, said Lalit Basnet, who was assigned as LDO in Surkhet and now working in Sarlahi on task. "The Ministry of General Administration did not allow me to get transfer to Sarlahi," said Basnet.

However, Uprety said the ministry has given priority for transfer to those who are threatened or disabled and whose performance was monitored poor. "Some LDOs are being transferred on the basis of public complaints, personal demand of LDOs and while others charged on misuse of development funds," he said.

The MoLD recently carried out monitoring of 10 districts-Morang, Ilam, Rautahat, Bara, Kaski, Rupandehi, Banke Surkhet, Dadeldhura and Kanchanpur on the performances including development activities and use of allocated funds. Similarly, the Ministry is monitoring other ten districts on the second phase. Those districts are Saptari, Panchthar, Parsa, Kathmandu, Tanahu, Kapilvastu, Dang, Dailekh, Kailali and Darchula.