The procurement scandal of Teramocs shows the political pressure and abuse of authority – My Republica – The partner of the New York Times, the latest news from Nepal in English, the latest news articles

Kathmandu, May 17: The Telamoc system for monitoring and fraud control of telecommunications traffic and the fraud regulation has resulted in signs of corruption. It serves as an example of how the political leadership at state levels puts employees at the fore at the level of the stay in making decisions about matters that go beyond their authority.

The then minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet decided to implement a mechanism and a system to control the Call-Bypass (VoIP) or to control contributions from the officials involved in the decision-making process.

After the approval on September 8, 2017, the file was kept in the queue for almost a month and was only edited by the secretary on October 3, 2017, who granted an order to the administrative department on the same day of the administration.

On the same day, the administrative industry in letter No. 77 of the Nepalese telecommunications authority (NTA) approved for the annual program. A month later, the minister, the secretary and the branch of the administration, practiced the authority – which the minister had – to give approval for the annual program to the NTA on a single day.

An analysis of the time in which the file was stopped in the minister's office shows that the then NTA chairman Digambar JHA submitted a proposal on September 17, 2017 and that the annual program for the 2017/18 teramocs with costs of 3.25 billion RS (3.25 billion) contained, and the decision to send it to the minister to send the Ministry of Ministry for a range of recognition to send the Ministry for the Ministry. The NTA board forwarded the proposal on September 18, 2017 for a decision.

The proposal was discussed in the meeting on September 25, 2017, but no decision was made. Even after the minister decided to add the program, it became clear based on statements from co-accused Dhan Raj Gyawali and Tika Prasad Upreti- that the minister was under pressure to make the decision by an NTA board meeting. As a result, Minister Basnet was automatically involved.

Despite the pressure, the board meeting made no decision. As a result, Minister Basnet approved the file on October 3, 2017, and on the same day the correspondence was sent to the NTA. The next day, October 4, 2017, the letter was registered with the NTA, and the board meeting held on the same day decided to continue with Teramocs-related work.

It seems that the Mohan Bahadur Basnet Minister of Information and Communication at that time was formed by a collective conspiracy with malicious intent by the then NTA chairman Digambar JHA and the board member Dhan Raj Gyawali and Tika Prasad Upletti. This can be seen from their orders, the agendas, proposals, decisions and the procedural steps in order to advance the procurement process – everything that is clearly explained in the accusation plain submitted by the Commission to examine the abuse of authority (CIAA).

Mohan Bahadur Basket's statement:

During my tenure it was not only published that telecommunications service providers were dealing with calls and fraud, but several people, but several people, including the Bangladeshische National Rubel Choudhary, were arrested in connection with revenue fraud. Against this background, I agreed with the NTA's goal of maintaining the loss of income and maintaining the financial discipline with the aim of the NTA with the aim of the political proposal.

It is the responsibility of the NTA to act in accordance with the financial regulations and the relevant laws. According to Section 20 of the 1997 Telecommunications Act, the government can issue the NTA guidelines, and the government itself can operate or facilitate telecommunications services. With the aim of addressing call -bypass, preventing revenue ceiling and increasing the income, I supported the political proposal introduced by the NTA.

The number of NCELL customers rose among the service providers during sales. Due to a reduction of around 21 billion rupees in the 2021/22 financial year compared to the 2017/18 financial year, it was necessary to implement this technology in order to determine the actual causes of the decline. For this reason, I supported the proposal.

I am aware of the constitutional provisions in connection with confidentiality, but the method that I have approved or instructed to prevent telecommunications service providers, to avoid and commit calls, is completely separated from this topic. With regard to the right to privacy, the rights of all people must be confirmed. While a legislator can issue laws for certain purposes that aim at certain persons or groups, my consent to the NTA was exclusively associated with the prevention of revenues and not with a violation of data protection rights.

The statement by Gokul Prasad Baskota:

The NTA works under separate legal regulations and is an autonomous institution. Therefore, the ministry has no representation in the formulation of its guidelines, programs and budgets. With the exception of matters that fall under government policy, the Ministry of the NTA can only offer non -binding proposals.

I am aware of the fundamental rights in connection with information and also have general knowledge of the decision of the Supreme Court that nobody can access the legally defined persons. In the 2017/18 financial year, the Teramocs program was already responsible for the government, which means an obligation to continue the program.

I have given the parliamentary committee and elsewhere that teramocs are currently not required. It was only initiated due to significant loss of income. However, the NTA is responsible for the analysis and implementation of laws and court hearings. I have not given any orders or instructions that oppose the court decisions or laws. Since the process had started before my term, I only gave my consent in accordance with the rules based on the proposal presented.

Gyanendra Bahadur Karki's statement:

The NTA is an autonomous body that is responsible for preparing your budget and programs. It is also responsible for ensuring the legality of these proposals. If civil servants complete their checks under my supervision and submit suggestions, I am obliged to approve them. I am not an expert in this area and cannot imagine violating a person's fundamental rights.

As far as I remember, the approval of the annual program and the budget for the 2021/22 financial year mentioned that a supplementary budget is presented after the full judgment of court was received. My comments on compliance with rules and procedures aimed to implement this judgment.

When the additional budget was presented to me, only comments in connection with the implementation of the budget were presented – these were already approved before I took responsibility for the ministry. During my political career, I acted in the best interest in the country and was not involved in corrupt practices.

Dhan Raj Gyawalis statement:

From July 3, 2012 to October 4, 2017, I worked as a NTA board member. The NTA has a chairman, managing director, management manager and chairman of the board. Due to income from international calls, in particular VoIP calls, an example -Audit program was recorded in the annual program for the 2017/18 financial year to solve the problem.

However, there was no suggestion for the implementation of a specific system, including teramocs. While the 2017/18 program was considered in the Ministry of Information and Communication, the matter was raised on September 18 and 25, 2017 in the board meetings.

The chairman repeatedly emphasized the need to implement such a system and claimed that the ministry had published instructions. Due to the lack of detailed studies, uncertainty in terms of implementation by service providers and concerns about the potential violations of data protection, the Board of Directors has not approved the matter.

In a board meeting on October 7, 2016, the decision was made to implement the order of the Supreme Court of November 7, 2015, in which the service providers were not instructed without the court regulation to specify call details and to coordinate with the relevant areas for the design legislation. In this context, the board of directors did not approved the matter due to the lack of detailed legal provisions, since access to personal data would violate constitutional rights without proper legal procedures.

I did not agree or made decisions regarding a system to enable access to personal data. I have only given a suggestion to check the VoIP Call -Bypass based on the written instructions of the ministry.

I have not made any decisions regarding the purchase of a specific system, including teramax. I lack technical knowledge and the board has not conducted any detailed discussions about the matter. The responsibility for studying and implementing the ministry's guidelines lies in the chairman and management. Since I am missing, I have nothing more to add. I did not act against the order of the Supreme Court.

I was not involved in procurement or payment procedures. I have not approved any additional budget. I acted in good faith throughout the process, without malicious intent or participation in corruption. I am ready to present the facts wherever this is necessary, and apply for this matter that this matter, as submitted by the CIAA, will be forwarded to the responsible court.