KATHMANDU, Dec 10: The suspended Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Pradeep Adhikari, remains in detention in a corruption case worth around Rs 130 million but has been granted bail of Rs 500,000 by the Special Court in a separate case involving nearly Rs 8 billion.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed the massive Rs 8.36 billion case against 56 people, including Adhikari, alleging irregularities during the construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA). On Tuesday, the Special Court approved bail of Rs 500,000 for Adhikari in this case.
Earlier, Adhikari had been remanded in custody in the Nalinchok helipad case in Bhaktapur, where the CIAA accused him of embezzling Rs 130 million. As a result, he remains in Dillibazar Prison and cannot be immediately released, even though bail was granted in the PRIA case. Special Court Spokesperson Yagya Raj Regmi said, “He was already in custody for the previous case, so he declined to post bail. Consequently, he will remain detained for this case as well.”
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The PRIA case names not only Adhikari but also five former ministers, former secretaries, and other officials. The airport, initially estimated at Rs 12 billion, saw costs escalate, eventually reaching Rs 24 billion with Rs 22 billion from China’s Exim Bank at 2% interest and Rs 2 billion as a grant. At the time, Adhikari was the project chief.
The CIAA filed cases against late ministers Post Bahadur Bogati, Ram Sharan Mahat (who suffers from Alzheimer’s), Deepak Amatya, Ram Kumar Shrestha, and Bhim Acharya. Former Supreme Court registrar and PRIA study taskforce coordinator Ram Krishna Timalsena, along with 10 former secretaries, including Sureshman Shrestha and Madhu Kumar Marasini, were also named defendants.
Other officials named include secretaries Madhu Marasini, Sushil Ghimire, Sureshman Shrestha, Suman Prasad Sharma, and Bheshraj Sharma; joint-secretaries Ranjan Krishna Aryal, Mohan Krishna Sapkota, Suresh Acharya, and Lok Bahadur Khatri; and Board Committee member Manrup Shahi, CAAN members Jyoti Adhikari, Air Service Operators’ Association President Manoj Karki, Phurwachiring Sherpa, Member-Secretary Madan Kharel, Mukti Narayan Paudel, and Surya Prasad Acharya.
Former Deputy DGs Roshan Chitrakar and Rishikesh Sharma, Deputy Directors Narayan Giri and Mahesh Kumar Basnet, Director Baburam Paudel, Deputy Director Ashok Kumar Subedi, Managing Director Murari Bhandari, and Deputy Director Subarnaraj Upadhyaya are also defendants in the case.
PRIA, built with China’s loan assistance, is considered a national pride project. Though studies began in 2065 BS and construction concluded in 2079 BS, regular international flights have yet to commence. A parliamentary investigation subcommittee previously reported alleged corruption of around Rs 10 billion during its construction. The CIAA claims that the project involved financial mismanagement, doubling of costs, and manipulations in the contract process, and has been investigating with control over all project documents for the past two years.
