Pokhara, September 21
The Gandaki provincial government has launched an investigation into allegations that former Health Minister Laxman Bahadur Pandey and Health Secretary Dr Yuva Nidhi Basaula engaged in bargaining over a bribe while granting permission to increase the number of beds at a hospital.
The allegations surfaced in connection with the approval to upgrade Padma Nursing Home in Pokhara from a 50-bed to a 100-bed hospital. It was alleged that then-Minister Pandey, his secretariat and the ministry secretary negotiated a payment in connection with the approval.
Journalist Apil Tripathi claimed in a video published on the ‘Gandaki Chhadke’ YouTube channel on Friday that a Rs 3 million bribe deal had been negotiated in the case. Pandey has denied receiving any bribe. However, it has been claimed that the former minister and his secretariat did not explicitly deny the alleged bribe negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Gandaki provincial government has removed Health Secretary Dr Yuva Nidhi Basaula from his responsibilities. According to government spokesperson and Finance Minister Jit Bahadur Sherchan, the Cabinet decided to relieve Basaula of his duties at the Health Ministry and assign him to the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers until further arrangements are made.
The government will also investigate the legal provisions and practices concerning hospital approvals and upgrades granted by the Health Ministry over the past two years. A three-member investigation committee has been formed under the coordination of an undersecretary at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers. The committee has been given 15 days to submit its report.
The provincial government has also decided to write to the Pokhara office of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) seeking an investigation into the case.
As an investigation into the alleged bribery case is underway, the Cabinet has decided to suspend implementation of the permission granted to Padma Nursing Home to upgrade its hospital until the allegations of irregularities are clarified.
UML also forms investigation committee
The CPN-UML Gandaki provincial assembly parliamentary party has also expressed concern over the allegations involving former minister Pandey, who is a UML leader. It has formed a separate committee to investigate the facts of the case.
The committee, coordinated by Chief Whip Devka Pahari Tripathi, has been instructed to investigate the case and submit its report within 15 days.
The committee members are Bed Bahadur Gurung, a UML Gandaki provincial assembly member and secretary of the parliamentary board, and Dhananjay Dawadi, secretary of the party’s provincial committee.
Pahari said the committee would investigate the facts of the case and submit its report.
Pandey was appointed health minister on April 15 during Chief Minister Surendraraj Pandey’s Cabinet reshuffle. He, along with three other UML ministers, resigned on September 10. Before Pandey, Krishna Pathak of the UML had served as health minister.
