5,504 Government Officials Fail to Submit Property Declarations; Commission Signals Legal Action

A total of 5,504 government employees and public officials at the federal, provincial, and local levels failed to submit their property declarations for the fiscal year 2080/81, according to a new report.

This was revealed in the Property Declaration Monitoring Report submitted by the National Vigilance Center (NVC) to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Monday.

Breakdown of Officials Required to Submit Declarations:

• Federal level: 488,280 officials

• Provincial level: 19,834 officials

• Local level: 273,239 officials

Actual Submissions:

• Federal: 483,687

• Provincial: 19,355

• Local: 253,452

• Total Submitted: 775,849

• Submission Rate: 99.30%

• Non-compliant Officials: 5,504 (0.70%)

The report emphasizes that under Section 50(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059, public officeholders are legally required to declare their assets within 60 days of assuming office and within 60 days of the end of each fiscal year. Failure to do so invites legal action under Section 50(3) of the same Act.

While accepting the report, CIAA Chief Commissioner Prem Kumar Rai thanked the NVC for its timely submission and stressed the need to digitize and streamline asset declaration processes by integrating records from the Public Service Record Office, Teachers' Record Office, Police, Army Archives, and the NVC.

NVC Secretary Suraj Kumar Vaidya highlighted the key findings of the 403-page report, which includes seven chapters and 10 annexes.

The report notes a declining trend in non-compliance compared to previous years. However, the CIAA has stated that legal steps will be taken against those who failed to submit their property declarations within the stipulated timeframe in accordance with prevailing laws.