The Gen-G rebellion of Bhadau was a serious expression of dissent against the existing structural form and style of governance in the state. This rebellion was originally carried out in the name of establishing good governance, controlling corruption in a result-oriented manner, and ending economic inequality.

The 22nd International Day Against Corruption was celebrated on December 9. A month and a half later, the annual day of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority is being celebrated. At this moment, it is necessary to have a brutal discussion on how to reduce corruption by absorbing the spirit of the Gen-G rebellion. Only if realistic conclusions can be effectively implemented, the future generation will not have to set fire to the nation's heritage, government buildings and private homes and businesses like the current generation. Instead, an environment of working together to make the nation prosperous would have been created.

On the eve of the 35th day of the 34th anniversary of the Commission, the Commission has filed 173 corruption-related cases in the Special Court. The status and responsibility of the defendants involved in the crimes in these cases, the number of defendants and the amount claimed in the cases and the methods of committing the crimes can be examined. There are irregularities in the purchase agreements made for the establishment of diagnostic centers in 72 municipalities of Madhesh Province, the work of preparing cost estimates in a way that conflicted interests from the National Information Technology Center, and the illegal acquisition of wealth by the then chairman of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives.

Similarly, there are issues of loss and damage to public property by Patanjali Yogpeeth and Ayurveda Company, the Intensive Urban Building Construction Project, illegal gains and losses by taking commissions from the head of the Ramechhap office, illegal activities related to telecommunication billing, the then chairman of the Nepal Bank Board of Directors accepting bribes to facilitate the loan process, the then executive director of the Greater Janakpur Area Development Council embezzling public property, and bribery by the chief land revenue officer of the Land Reforms and Land Revenue Office, Bhaktapur. In an environment where the extent to which responsible individuals are involved in corrupt activities is revealed through the scope of investigation and investigation, no matter how much the responsible political and administrative high-ranking officials adopt the slogan of zero tolerance towards corruption, our corruption control system seems to be entangled in the laziness of state administrators. 

Our thinking towards corruption

In our country, where corruption is spoken of everywhere, public awareness that good governance is the main mantra for getting rid of corruption is gradually increasing. But in the context of Nepal, we keep one thing in mind, say another thing and act in a way that is contrary to what we say. Until the awareness that corruption should not be committed is developed as a culture, no matter how effective a corruption control system we establish, we cannot end corruption from this country. Only if timely laws are made against corruption and the bodies that implement such laws are effectively operated, the corruption control system can be sustainable and effective. 

If we talk about social thinking, our current thinking has become distorted. We have been cultivating a culture of being greedy not for the inherent behavior of the individual but for the external material behavior. We have started to understand the luxury, wealth, and luxurious lifestyle of the people around us as the meaning of achievement and success. We have developed a standard that is not great only after one rides an elephant and another rides a spindle. Without looking at what status, ability, and qualifications are, and whether the source of income is legitimate or illegitimate? The social responsibility of inquiring and warning against wrong behavior has been lost even within the family, let alone the external society. Whether moral or immoral, legal or illegal, family members, relatives, neighbors, and party colleagues who have a prosperous lifestyle, regardless of whether it is moral or immoral, have a tendency to worship material wealth without discrimination and look down on and treat those who do not appear wealthy.

In this way, no matter how legitimate or illegal, corrupt or immoral, wealth has become a means of social superiority. Who wants to fall behind in the competition to become superior by quickly earning wealth? Such a social character and the tendency to worship wealth without distinguishing between good and bad, regardless of the means by which it is earned, are the only ones that feed corruption. In this sense, our thinking, tendency and behavior are equally responsible for the increase in corruption. But our preparations to control corruption, the indifference seen in amending the law and the obstacles created in the implementation of the law, all actions and reactions are in the nature of making corruption fertile.

For example, in 2073 Magh, the Authority arrested Nasu of the Lalitpur District Court with a bribe of 3 lakh rupees. This was the first time that an employee working in a court was arrested by the Authority. The Supreme Court, determined to stop its employee from being arrested by the Authority and interfering in the judiciary, wrote a letter to the court and took him from the custody of the Authority, saying that he would investigate it himself. A few days later, the incident at that time when he was returned to the Commission for investigation, even though the jurisdiction of the Authority is clear in the Constitution, the idea that our employee is someone else's employee prevailed rather than stopping wrongdoing. Unless such thinking is eliminated, corruption will continue to flourish no matter what system is created. Slowness in lawmaking, amendment and implementation The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act, 2048 BS and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 BS, which are weapons for the purpose of taking action against the corrupt, were presented to the National Assembly in 2076 BS to amend the essence and spirit of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act, 2048 BS and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 BS, and to address the changing nature and trend of corruption.

Although the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 BS was amended last Chaitra, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act is still under consideration. Doesn't the fact that the amendment bill has not been implemented even after more than 5 years since its submission to the parliament confirms that there is a difference in the statements and actions of our lawmakers who say that they are sensitive to corruption? Similarly, although the Commission's annual report repeatedly mentions that it is working and is being done to revise the First National Strategy and Action Plan for the Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, 2069 BS, it is not an exaggeration to say that since its revision has not been made to date, it is not an exaggeration to say that corruption control is not a priority issue for state administrators.

It has become our destiny to sit idle in public office and receive remuneration, salary and allowances for sitting like that and to hear that we could not work because of the red house. However, should no one who takes responsibility for running the state be concerned with the legal provision made in Section 17 (a) added in the first amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059, which clearly states that ‘it shall be an offence for any public servant to cause harm without taking a decision’? The amendment provides for punishment for ‘any public servant who knowingly takes, gives or gives a benefit to himself or to someone else, or who, in bad faith, causes harm to a public institution or person by not taking such a decision, except in cases where there is reasonable cause for taking a decision within a specific period under the law’.

Many of us have the misconception that corruption occurs only by doing wrong. To overcome this misunderstanding and effectively implement the amendment to Section 17 (a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059, the amendment to Section 15 of the Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064 made this year stipulates that ‘if an authority empowered to make a decision under the prevailing law has to make a decision on a matter, it shall do so within the same period, or in the absence of such a provision, within seven working days of receiving the information, evidence or documents related to the provision requiring the decision’. This means that no one is allowed to lie down on the office table with a pile of files on their desks pretending to be asleep, saying that they will not work, receive salaries or allowances, or that they will not perform any of their assigned responsibilities until they receive benefits that are in their personal interest, including bribes.

However, the implementation of such laws is possible only if ‘not only the civil servants who provide services, but also the service recipients who receive services and the decision-makers in the talukas who monitor the work of such civil servants become equally sensitive and aware’. Otherwise, even if the law is made, such important amendments will remain confined to the law books for us, who are accustomed to making many excuses. 

The announcement of having to pay bribes

The Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation of the civilian government has stated in the daily ‘Naya Patrika’ that ‘a month before he was appointed as a minister, he had to pay 5 thousand rupees unnecessarily (as a bribe) in addition to the revenue while passing the land.’ His further statement published in the newspaper was, ‘It is very difficult to work, we will try as much as we can. The bribe takers should be put in jail, if not, they will be thrown around like this.

If they can, they will throw me out, right?’ Unlike our ordinary ministers who do not fulfill their term of office, the minister of the electoral government did not express false assurances that he would break all the webs of corruption in the country. The practice of bribery and corruption that has been prevalent since yesterday has been exposed. The CIAA has been prosecuting corruption cases related to bribery and corruption in the cases of Litchibari in Pokhara, Lalita Niwas, Patanjali, Baluwatar land in Jhapa, and Tikapur Urban Development Fund land, and has been investigating them since the past.

Apart from these, investigations are also underway in several other land-related corruption cases. The Ministry of Land Reforms, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation has become a playground for those playing the game of corruption. However, due to the failure to make careful preparations to ensure that no one dares to commit such a crime, public officials in Nepal have succeeded in turning public land into a cash cow. The wave created when the minister himself revealed the bribe he gave before becoming a minister has only honestly expressed the extent of corruption in Nepal, which everyone knows but has not understood.

The first amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059, has made some new provisions. The 'sting operation' that was scrapped by the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court in 2078 BS has now been reinstated in the amended act, so far this year, 58 bribery cases have been filed in the special court. The need to file cases on charges of bribery transactions between ministers and officials in office for the purpose of transferring someone in collusion with them can be understood to what extent governance has deteriorated.

Whose responsibility is it to control corruption?

In a democracy, it is natural for the common people to expect rights. But according to legal norms, along with the enjoyment of rights, the fulfillment of duties is considered equally important. When those who enjoy rights do not fulfill their duties, chaos ensues. We enjoy violating the law for convenience. We have developed a culture of building a ladder to power by killing people, setting fire to the nation's historical heritage and heritage and property, and worshipping such people. In this environment, most of us choose the easy way to do things that suit our interests, no matter what method or means we adopt, and blame the law and the structures established for law enforcement purposes.

The way forward

Since corruption is a white-collar crime committed by powerful people, the investigation and investigation of such crimes is complicated. The amount of corruption that has been reported to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority for necessary action has not been resolved in a timely manner with the current structure. When employees of various services of the Government of Nepal and officials of the security apparatus are brought into work and made skilled in investigation, as soon as the situation becomes favorable, such employees are rushed to return to their parent institution, and then the phase of providing skills and expertise related to investigation to the new employees who have been transferred begins.

Thus, the responsibility entrusted to this constitutional body cannot be effective. At least, the corrupt people who have been running the state so far do not have the desire to strengthen this institution. The state administrators are happy if this institution works to protect those who benefit them in their own way. Our politicians are busy looking for characters who will work for that purpose. Most of them succeed in their objectives, but sometimes they fail.

And some corrupt people protected by the current or former Prime Minister, ministers, and all parties are brought to justice. Corruption has flourished in this game of fate. In this form, it is only audacity to say that corruption will be reduced in the entire country through the current jurisdiction and the current efforts of the authority by mobilizing employees and making them skilled in investigation. In order to win public opinion in the elections, people are expressing their resolve on how to maintain good governance and how to maintain prosperity by eliminating corruption. However, expressions alone cannot win the trust of the general public. No one should be tempted by the lip service that they are eager to establish good governance and eradicate corruption until they come to power with a clear and implementable blueprint. Otherwise, the prosperity of the nation will not be achieved just by showing dreams by the dream merchants.