Charikot: Minister for Land Reforms Dambar Shrestha said on Tuesday that he did not get any help from other government offices for taking action against the land mafia and those involved in illegal land transactions.

He said he planned to take action against such people, but he did not get any support from the Home Ministry nor even from the prime minister

“I was compelled to be a mere spectator to malpractices in which a former commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) was involved,” Shrestha said while talking to reporters at Dolakha district headquarters, Charikot.

According to him, he had presented a proposal in the cabinet to take action against then CIAA Acting Chief Commissioner Lalit Bahadur Limbu, who registered in his own name land allocated for the UN Park on the bank of the Bagmati River. But, Shrestha said, some senior ministers objected to the proposal, saying there is no law for taking action against the chief of a constitutional body.

“After the government turned a deaf ear to my initiative, I even went to Hanumandhoka Police Range office to file a complaint against those involved in such acts, but my repeated requests fell on deaf ears again,” said Shrestha, adding that the police did not arrest those involved. Shrestha stated that the country has not been rid of corruption, and this was due to incompetent leaders, bureaucrats and police.

Shrestha claimed that politicians, judges and bureaucrats have obtained the title deeds to over 1,960 ropanis of unregistered land.

He also stated that he formed many committees to probe cases of a serious nature, and complained that he did not get needed support from government bodies.

The minister said he was only able to transfer some government officials under his ministry for their involvement in the illegal land transactions. “But I could not sack them,” he complained.

source: Khatiwada, R. (2010),"Officialdom shielding land mafia: Minister Shrestha  ", republica, 1 Dec 2010