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By Our Reporter

In Nepali politics, loyalty to the party chief often serves as a shield against accountability. A striking example is Balram Adhikari, Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, who continues to hold office despite being embroiled in multiple corruption controversies.

Adhikari became a subject of national uproar after an audio recording surfaced in which he was allegedly heard soliciting a bribe from a land mafia figure in Kaski, concerning the transfer of land in the area known as Litchhi Garden. Despite the damaging evidence, the government—led by his own party chief, KP Sharma Oli—has taken no action against him.

More recently, another audio tape exposing bribery in the transfer and posting of bureaucrats has sent shockwaves through the country’s political and administrative circles. The fallout led to the resignation of Federal Affairs and General Administration Minister Rajkumar Gupta. Ranjita Shrestha, a former minister, also stepped down as chair of the Nagarik Unmukti Party after being implicated in the same scandal.

But Minister Adhikari remains untouched.

Investigations by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) have primarily focused on former ministers, land revenue officials, and figures involved in the Pokhara-based Lichhi Bari land scam. Although multiple pieces of evidence have surfaced implicating Adhikari, the CIAA has neither summoned him nor taken his statement.

At least three distinct pieces of evidence have reportedly been submitted to the CIAA against the minister. One leaked audio from Pokhara suggests Adhikari refrained from appointing Khem Bahadur Pun as Land Commission chair because another individual had already accepted payment for the position. The same recording alleges that Adhikari’s son, Manoj, received Rs 2.5 million in a zebra-striped bag.

In yet another explosive audio, Dipak Subedi, a junior clerk at the Kaski Land Revenue Office—is heard boasting: “I’m the one who brought Chiranjeevi by spending Rs 7 million,” peppered with vulgar language. When another voice expresses disbelief,  “Rs 7 million?”,  Subedi reaffirms the amount, again using expletives.

The “Chiranjeevi” in question is Chiranjeevi Paudel, the current Chief Land Revenue Officer at the Kaski office. The individual who recorded the conversation reportedly tried to obstruct Paudel’s appointment several times, and the conversation connects two sitting ministers and one former minister to the alleged bribery scheme.

According to sources at the Kaski Land Revenue Office, the audio was secretly recorded during an office picnic a few months ago. In what appears to be retaliation, Paudel has since refused to renew the contract of a junior staff member suspected of leaking the recording.

While Subedi claims to have spent Rs 7 million to ensure Paudel’s appointment, it remains unclear who provided the funds or how the money was utilized. A senior official from the Land Management Ministry noted, “Subedi himself didn’t have the means to pay such a large amount. It’s obvious he was acting on behalf of a vested interest.”

Taken together, the incidents point to deep-rooted corruption and a worrying culture of impunity—especially for those with the right political allegiances. As pressure mounts for greater transparency and justice, the silence surrounding Minister Adhikari’s role raises urgent questions about selective accountability in Nepal’s political system.