A special court has found former NTA (Nepal Telecommunications Authority) chairmen Digambar Jha and Purushottam Khanal in mobile device management system (MDMS) corruption case. Both have been fined Rs 6 crore (60 million) and a year of prion term each. At the same time, 12 have been acquitted. Find out who they are:
A bench of three judges, Tek Narayan Kunwar, Ritendra Thapa, and Bidur Koirala, found Jha and three others guilty.
The court has sentenced Digambar Jha and Purushottam Khanal, along with four others, to one year in prison along with a fine of about Rs 6 crore each. But the court has decided that Jha and Khanal will be sentenced to an additional month in prison as they have served as the chairmen of the organization. Another person found guilty in the case is a Malaysian citizen Mohammad Nur Amin while three others are foreign companies – Numera SDN Berhad, Namaste Global Communication Pvt Ltd Singapore, and OSI Consulting Pvt Ltd India.
In total, the special court has fined a total of 23.20 crore in fine.
In Chaitra 2080, a case was filed by CIAA (Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority) against 20 high-profile individuals including Jha and Khanal in suspicion of financial irregularities in purchase of MDMS system. However, the court has acquitted Ananda Raj Khanal, Dipesh Acharya, Surendra Lal Hada, Min Prasad Aryal, Achyutananda Mishra, Rewati Ram Pant, Sandeep Adhikari, Binod Chandra Shrestha, Surya Prasad Lamichhane, Pratiksha Poudel, Vijay Kumar Ray Yadav and Nirajan Koirala.
Must read: NTA to implement Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Nepal
Jha and Khanal approved ineligible companies for MDMS
The court has stated that the then chairman of the NEA, Digambar Jha, had proceeded with the procurement process without preparing a master plan to implement MDMS and disregarded the eligibility criteria specified in the EOI issued in 2018 while approving Numera JV eligible. He is also said to have increased the cost by preparing an unnatural cost estimate, thereby causing financial losses to the government.
Similarly, the court holds that Jha’s successor Purushottam Khanal proceeded with the procurement process while ignoring the eligibility of the ineligible company while approving the EOI. The court’s brief judgment states that the wrong company was selected and that unnecessary benefits were given to that company by rejecting the recommendation of the evaluation committee.
Impact of MDMS corruption
After a series of setbacks, MDMS finally came into implementation on Kartik 20, 2080. The mobile regulatory system mandates that every phone imported into Nepal must be registered. The end goal is to curb the grey phone market and regulate the mobile devices operating inside Nepal.
The government had initially announced the launch of MDMS in FY 2071/72. It could only get a concrete start in 2075. An investigation committee formed by the communication ministry MoCIT had deemed Nta’s MDMS bylaw controversial. The committee held that the MDMS project should have been completed within 6 months and raised suspicion of corruption over its delay.
Since the beginning, the mega project of MDMS has witnessed delays, suspicions, and controversies. However, it finally saw the light of the day from Kartik in 2080 with its launch. Still, there is heresy about its ability to function at full capacity. The authority hasn’t been able to deploy gears to operate MDMS. The scandals also hasn’t helped it at all. So there’s a genuine question over its coming into operation if at all.
It’s also noteworthy that CIAA is also investigating any possible irregularities in the TERAMOCS purchase deal which is another mega project of NTA.
While projects can be controversial, this time, the authority itself was at the receiving end. What do you think of this development? Do you think it worsens the challenging environment Nepal’s telecom companies are facing? Do offer your input in the comment box below.
