A complaint has been filed with the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Forests alleging that the then Forest Minister Ain Bahadur Shahi, who was illegally serving as the chairman of the National Nature Conservation Trust, has been appointed and called for meetings.

Advocate Padam Bahadur Shrestha, who has been working in the field of environmental protection, has filed a complaint.

He has filed a petition demanding that the appointment and nomination of the chairman, member secretary and other officials of the National Nature Conservation Trust should be made in accordance with the prevailing laws, procedures and standards.

Kantipur Daily had earlier made public that Shahi, who was appointed as the Minister of Forests on 29th Shrawan 2081, was the chairman of the trust after losing his ministerial status after the Gen-G movement and was also responsible for the appointment. Sushila Karki became the Prime Minister on 27th Bhadra after the Oli government collapsed with the Gen-G movement. However, on 3rd Poush, former Forest Minister Shahi appointed Naresh Subedi as the member secretary of the trust, stating that he would continue to be the chairman of the trust even though he was no longer a minister. On 2 Poush, the day after the term of Member Secretary Subedi ended, he was appointed for another term. Former Minister Shahi had claimed that even though he had resigned from the post of minister, the law retained the position of chairman and appointed him in the same capacity.

After Shahi resigned from the post of minister and made the appointment as chairman, advocate Shrestha filed a petition with the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Forests.

The responsibility and authority of the chairman in the fund, which is the institutional leadership of the government, belonged to Forest Minister Madhav Chaulagain. The complaint states that Shahi's action should be null and void because Prime Minister Karki did not appoint him, citing a legal loophole. Even now, Prime Minister Karki's name is mentioned as the custodian of the fund, while Shahi's name is mentioned as the chairman.

'In the said fund, in the capacity of Minister of Forests and Environment, "Since Ain Bahadur Shahi was nominated and appointed on 29th Shrawan 2081, the government that made the appointment was dissolved in Nepal after the Gen-G movement on 23rd and 24th Bhadra 2082, and his position as Minister of Forest and Environment has also been terminated," the complaint states. "In such a situation, his legal right to continue as the chairman of the National Nature Conservation Trust and to appoint the member secretary of the fund and recruit other employees as the chairman has also been terminated."

He claimed that he had filed the petition because it was known that even though his position had ended, he was still holding the position and was illegally filling the position as if he were still in office. The issue is a matter of concern to all citizens, and the National Nature Conservation Trust Act, 2039, was enacted by the then Nepal government for overall nature conservation and came into force as a law on 3rd Mangsir 2039. Section 5 (a) of the Act provides that a person nominated by a person with the responsibility of protecting the state can appoint a chairman and other members including a member secretary. However, the complaint states that nominating should be done or caused to be done against the spirit of the Constitution, laws and regulations of Nepal.

Although the chairman chairs the board of directors' meetings, the administrative executive role is held by the member secretary. The fund, which has a budget of about one and a half billion rupees, has been operating the Annapurna, Manaslu and Gaurishankar conservation areas and the Central Zoo in Lalitpur.