In the last decade, Rs 500 million has been spent to develop infrastructure and facilities in Khaptad, the far-western land with stunning natural and cultural heritage. But not a single trail has been constructed yet. A case study that depicts the vicious circle of Nepal’s corruption.
Bidhya Rai/Basanta Pratap Singh Centre for Investigative Journalism-Nepal
In mid-April, 2018, Rekha Rawal and her family who visited Khaptad from Kathmandu found themselves stranded near Sahasralinga. Because the trail didn’t have any sign or notice, they couldn’t locate Patan even after a day’s walk.
A building in Khaptad Barrack area that is under construction for four years.
Late into the night, when they saw fire in the distance, they followed it and reached to a buffalo shed kept by a farmer. They spent the night there. The next day, the farmer showed them the way and they reached Khaptad. “We were afraid after getting lost in a dense forest. There was risk of wildlife as well, but as fate would have it, we came alive,” said Rekha, who had been to Khaptad to celebrate the Nepali New Year. “What kind of government is ours which talks about promoting tourism destinations but can’t construct a trail to walk?”
When we learned about the poor condition of Khaptad, a much-publicised destination, we dug up the investment made so far and the situation on the ground. When the information was not easily available, we claimed our right to information and inquired Nepal Tourism Board and Ministry of Tourism about the investment made during the ten years since the establishment of Khaptad Area Tourism Development Committee. Likewise, we asked National Park and Wildlife Department about the statement of expenditure made by the department on infrastructure development in Khaptad in the past decade. This report is based on the information we obtained and an analysis of the condition on the ground.
Analysing the information, countless examples emerged about the irregularities in spending the budgets in Khaptad. In the end of fiscal year, 2071/72 (2014/15), Tourism Board had allocated Rs1.5 million budget to ‘lay stones’ on the Khaptad trekking trail. On July 2, 2015, the Khaptad Area Tourism Development Committee was handed over the responsibility to spend the allocated budget.
Instead of laying the stone inside the Khaptad National Park’s trail, Yamaraj Kunwar, the then executive director of the committee, showed an expenditure statement of an already-completed repair of a road in the then Budhakot VDC in Achham, his native district. Citing the formation of a consumers’ committee of nine people from the local unit, Kunwar forged the members’ signature to acquire the budget. The consumers’ committee didn’t exist.
But according to the fake document prepared by Kunwar on Asar 18, 2072, the committee repaired a road in seven days with an expense of Rs1.5 million. Kunwar also submitted a fake document showing the agreement between Khaptad Area Tourism Development Committee and the consumers’ committee. But in truth, a technician from Achham had estimated the cost of road repair from Lamki in Kailali. Following a complaint regarding the forgery of documents and financial embezzlement, Kunwar was sacked by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civic Aviation on Magh 4, 2073. The ministry had formed an investigation committee after a complaint was lodged against Kunwar.
Budget gets used up, but still not a single trail
First, let’s have a look at the expenses on various kinds of trails. The documents show that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has spent a total of Rs126.6million to construct roads and trekking trails in the span between fiscal year 2065/66 and 2075/76. Likewise, the Tourism Board has spent Rs4.62million for the same work in the same span of time. Similarly, the National Park and Wildlife Department has spent Rs2.21million for the same work. According to the documents, it seems that a total of Rs133.4 million has been spent to construct roads and trails in Khaptad area in the past decade.
A view of Ghodadauna Patan, the biggest grassland in Khaptad.
But despite this heavy expenditure, there’s not an easy trail for the visitors to walk on, neither is there any sign board showing the direction. Every day, the tourists get confused and stranded in the forests. In the second week of Ashoj, 2076, Samyog Thapa from Koteshwore, Kathmandu and his team of 17 found themselves stranded while coming downhill after visiting Khaptad Baba Ashram to take a holy bath in Tribeni.
They had been told by hotel operators in Khtad that it takes 15 minutes’ walk to get to Tribeni but they spent a whole day to make the trip, hungry and tired. Only at about 2pm did they find a sign board indicating the direction to reach the army barrack in Khaptad.
Thapa said that they had a very difficult time to navigate Khaptad. “We thought it was difficult to come from Kathmandu but once here, it’d be easy, but we were wrong,” said Thapa. “We started walking that day after having tea thinking we’d reach to the hotel at 9am but the grassland and forests were impenetrable, we had to walk hungry.”
Another of the team’s member, Pradeep Thapa, said, “Afraid that we’d get stranded again, we shortened our trip and left Kathmandu the next day.”
According to data by the Office of Khaptad National Park, since the fiscal year 2064/65, a total of 1444 foreign tourists and over 57000 domestic tourists have visited Khaptad. An average of 5000 tourists reach Khaptad every year.
It’s natural that tourists get stranded in the large grasslands (Patans) in Khaptad. Often, even native farmers get lost. Some have lost lives. In 2072, Dhyane Khadka, a farmer from Malumela, Bajhang, was found dead after a week since he got lost. Harina Sarki, from Khapdchhanna Rural Municipality-3, has disappeared since 2073, according to Krishna Dutta Awasthi, game scout with the national park. “I don’t know about the death of tourists,” he said. “But many of them get stranded.” Awasthi said the park officials are dedicated to rescuing them.
Last year, four women, Lakshmi Rokaya, Kiradevi Rokaya, Devaki Rokaya and Paru Rokaya, who had been to Khaptad to observe the Gangadasahara Festival got stranded for two days. They lost their way at about 8am and walked for a day and a night in vain. Only the following day, they noticed a flickering light faraway and followed it to reach Sayal village in Doti district. They fell sick and had to spend days in treatment, according to Jagadish Rokaya, chair of Federation of Journalists, Bajhang, who is also a brother-in-law of Lakshmi Rokaya.
Rs4.6 million in sign boards
The documents show that the government agencies have spent a huge amount to put up sign boards that show direction. Since 2069, a total of Rs4.6 million has been spent to put up signage, information boards and help centres. The national park and wildlife department and Nepal Tourism Board have spent Rs730000 and Rs1.5 million respectively on information boards and signage. Likewise, from the fiscal year 2065/66 to 072/73, Khaptad Area Tourism Development Committee has spent Rs2.4 million for the same purpose.
The buildings that were constructed a year ago in Tribenidham Area in Khaptad.
But the results of those expenditure is nowhere to be seen. Pratirodh Subedi, a Kathmandu native who recently visited Khaptad, says, “It’s unclear how to enter the Khaptad National Park, and the trails are all the more confusing. For a lack of information boards and signs of direction, one gets afraid in Khaptad rather than enjoy the trip.” While field reporting, we got lost too for almost five hours. We headed off for Tribeni from Baba Ashram, but we found ourselves in Chhinte Dhunga in Doti. We only found our way after searching for the clues, climbing up tall hills.
One get a sense at the very first step that nothing of significance has been done in Khaptad, the famous tourism destination in the far-west often called an earthly paradise. Tek Narayan Poudel, Chief District Officer of Doti, is one of those who get bewildered about Khaptad. Poudel said that he has personally experienced how the budgets allocated for the development of tourism destination gets embezzled. Poudel was under secretary at the administration and manpower management department of tourism ministry when the then chief executive Yamaraj Kunwar was sacked.
For those who travel with the locals’ instruction face problem to acquire proper food and lodge. A few government-run guest houses are extremely mismanaged. Many visitors complain of having to face trouble to spend the night.
“Neither is there warm and safe house to sleep, nor are there any hotels that provide enough food,” said Rashmila Chhetri, a Kathmandu native who recently visited Khaptad. “There are too many holes in the wall of guest house. It gets cold. One has to sleep in a small mattress.”
Khaptad is not just a tourism destination but also is an important religious hub. Elderly wish to reach Khaptad to pray to the gods. Parents want to take their children for an excursion. But for the lack of even a basic infrastructure, many return disappointed.
Narendra Khadka, former chief of Doti Chamber of Commerce, said, “The condition is such that if a team of 30/35 goes to Khaptad, either they have to sleep congested or spend the night in the open sky.”
But if one looks at the investment on buildings in Khaptad, Khadka’s opinion should have been wrong. According to Milan Khadka, ranger at the park office, the barrack area has three concrete buildings, three in Tribeni area, three in Kedardhunga and five more iron trusts.
Likewise, according to records, there are four buildings in the way to Baba Ashram, one in Ghoda Dauna Patan, three in Khapar pond and one in Sahasralinga. In Bichpani, there are two concrete buildings and three iron trusts, the records show. Moreover, including one each in Ganeshsthan Patan and Lokhada, it seems there are over thirty concrete buildings in Khaptad area. The records show there are about 22 ashrams, rest houses and guest houses in Ghoda Dauna, Tribeni, Bichpani, Khapardaha, Nagdhunga, and Sahasralinga, among others. The buildings could have afforded as many as three thousand visitors at one time.
But on a field inspection, the reality appears different. Many buildings have roofs of zinc sheets and the wind has already blown them away. Some buildings have collapsed and are filled with the excreta of the stray cattle. Only three of the buildings—two in barrack area and one in Bichpani—are currently usable.
Why is it that there are so many buildings but only three that are usable? Our investigation shows that the buildings were built just to show the investment of budgets. “Some buildings have not been handed over to us whereas some are in odd places,” said Milan Khadka, a ranger with Khaptad National Park office. “The buildings have been completely ignored once they were built. Nobody repairs them.” Park officials claimed that they can only take care of the buildings once they’re handed over to them, but many buildings built by the park itself haven’t fared any better.
We looked into the amount of money that went into these buildings. The park office, tourism board and Khaptad Area Development Committee have invested ample amount of money. Likewise, the then District Development Committee Bajhang and VDCs from Achham, Doti, and Bajura have also made some investment. All expenditure combined, the authorities had invested Rs235.2 million altogether to “construct well-facilitated buildings.” But there is not a single buildings where one can easily spend the night.
Meanwhile, a concrete building near the barrack of Nepal Army is under construction for 10 years. Nearly Rs20 million has been spent on the building so far but it’s still not complete. “The budget might have been completed but nobody knows when the buildings will be completed,” said Purna Raj Joshi, former chief of Khaptad Area Tourism Development Committee.
Lok Rawal, who has been operating a hotel inside the park since 13 years, is a witness of all the irregularities here. He has not estimated the amount of financial embezzlement in Khaptad but he knows it’s too many. “If one were to make a bed out of all the money that is embezzled here, it would perhaps cover all the grasslands around,” he said. “I have witnessed people coming with bag full of money and dividing it between them in my hotel.”
Projects elsewhere in the name of Khaptad
The projects that were supposed to take place in Khaptad have been moved to places that have nothing to tourism. In the tenure of Trilochan Bhatta as the chief of the Khaptad Area Development Committee, 40million out of 70million budget allocated for Khaptad was spent elsewhere. Bhatta is currently the chief minister of Sudurpaschim Province.
A guest house that lies incomplete and in a dilapidated state even though the construction was started 10 years ago.
In 2008, Hisila Yami, then tourism minister, had appointed Bhatta as the chief of the committee and Prem Bahadur Singh, a former Maoist, as executive director. During the fiscal year 2008/09, the ministry of tourism had allocated Rs70million for Khaptad’s infrastructure development. But that amount never went to Khaptad’s development. Rather the money was divided between Maoist cadres from four districts around Khaptad by forming consumers’ committees.
But when asked about it, Bhatta, the current chief minister, told us to contact the then executive director for details. “It is the executive who signs agreements and disburses fund,” he said. “You can ask him if there were any irregularities. I have already forgotten the incidents.”
Bhanubhakta Joshi, who is Bhatta’s predecessor as committee chief, says, “Not even 20 percent of the budget was spend on development, it was all embezzled. If the budget was properly used, then Khaptad would need no other investment.”
Dhirendra Singh, who worked as section officer at the committee for eight years, says, “It was in the fiscal year 2008/09 that the highest amount of budget was allocated, and also the year where most of the budget went not in Khaptad but elsewhere.”
Out of the budget, Rs10 million was spent on the construction and survey, monitoring and construction of various trails such as Khapta-Surma, Khaptad-Urai, Khaptad-Badimalika, Khaptad-Rara and Khaptad-Ramaroshan. Rs1.5million was spent on survey and the rest for construction. So much so that it was shown that the budget was spent on trails in Doti, Achham, Bajura and Bajhang that have nothing to do with Khaptad.
At that time, an Rs1.5million was allocated to construct and repair trekking trails in places such as Khaparmandau (previously Malumela VDC) in Bajhang, Baramatuwa (Kalukheti VDC), Khapardev, Patadeval, Banni Masta Temple (Byasi VDC), Wasikedar (Lana Kedareshwore VDC), Salmuni (Kalagaun), Dadamandau Rishikunda (Lunyata), Thalidevi (Lekgaun VDC), among others. These places are up to 200km away from Khaptad.
Danbahadur Surmeli, chair of Bajhang Chamber of Commerce who is a witness of the irregularities in the construction of Khaptad-Surma trekking trail, says, “The previous year, a team of 15-16 people went to the trail and cleared the shrubs. The following year, nobody went there and all the budget was embezzled.”
Another irregularity by the Bhatta-led committee is that establishment of a communication office. Rs500000 was allocated to establish communication centres, purchase furniture and management in the four districts adjoining Khaptad—Bajhang, Bajura, Doti and Achham. The offices were established but only on the paper. The whole money was embezzled.
Likewise, an Rs5 million was allocated to construction, monitor and survey designing of the committee office building, tourist information centre, library, museum and a guest house inside the Khaptad area. Rs 4.4 million was allocated for construction and the rest Rs600000 for survey and design—but none of the work was done while the budget was finished.
That same year, Rs4 million was spent on the heading of Masterplan on the Possibility of Tourism Infrastructure Management in places such as Surmasarobar, Badimalika, Ramaroshan, among others. Rs10 million was spent to construct and repair, with ‘architectural engineer design’, destinations such as Khaptad Ashram, Tribeni Temple, Sahasralinga, Khaptad Pond, Nagdhunga, Maikathan, Bhelchhado, among others. The money was spent but only on the paper.
Ganeshbahadur Singh, who was the executive director of the committee for the longest time of three years, also courted controversy. A complaint was registered on Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority against Singh with allegations that he formed a fake consumers’ committee to show the expenditure.
Perhaps because it got a sense of the extreme corruption in Khaptad, the government has sent a task force to Khaptad three years ago. In Mangsir 2073, the tourism ministry had sent a three-member team to monitor and inspect the projects completed in the fiscal year 2072/73 and those running in the fiscal year 2073/74. The team included the then accounting officer at the ministry, Krishnababu Rijal, engineer Niraj Chaulagain and another official Sudeep Dahal.
The report prepared by the team and submitted to the ministry notes the irregularities in the construction of a toilet and a trekking trail to Nagdhunga; the constructions were built with a budget of Rs950000 and Rs1.42million, respectively, but without any ‘detail drawing and ‘design estimate’. The report reads, “There have been corruption by making small-scale plans, showing that the work is being done with consumers’ committees but paying them before the completion of the project, and investing on irrelevant places.”
The report further notes, ‘The executive is changed with the government; the executive takes the official equipment he’s using with him even after the termination of the tenure, and the committee is working as a fertile ground of payment for party cadres.’
A tale of Rs500 million
To know the amount of budget the government has spent to develop Khaptad over the last decade, one has to know the amount spent for drinking water projects, garbage management, construction of trekking trails, and their repairs.
A rest house near Ghodadauna Patan. The resthouse that never came to use has already collapsed.
According to the details we received, the government has spent a total of Rs477 millions 91 thousands and 922. The ministry of culture, tourism and civil aviation has spent Rs260 million 422 thousands and 647 in the span of fiscal years 2063/64 to 2074/75.
The department of National Park and Wildlife has spent Rs180 millions and 459 thousands between the fiscal years 2065/66 and 2074/75. Of which, Rs144 million and 764 thousands has gone to salaries, allowances and other administration expenses, according to the records we obtained.
Nepal Tourism Board has spent Rs35 million 257 thousand and 275 in the period between fiscal year 2065/66 and 2075/76. The department of national parks and wildlife has spent Rs 953000 for Khaptad’s buffer zone in between fiscal years 2067/68 and 2074/75.
In the current fiscal year, Nepal Tourism Board has allocated Rs50million to construct two residential houses in Khaptad, to be implemented by the Khaptad National Park. The park has already signed the contract, aiming to complete it by the end of Asar, 2077. This makes the total expenditure in the name of Khaptad a whopping Rs527million 91 thousand 922.
But despite this tremendous investment, the development in Khaptad and its promotion is close to nothing. The authority most responsible for the irregularities is the Khaptad Area Tourism Development Committee which was established in 2063BS.
The executives at the helm of the committee over the past decade include Trilochan Bhatta who is now the chief minister of Sudurpaschim Province; former minister of forestry Bhanubhakta Joshi; Shivakumar Karki who is currently the chief of Commission for Abuse of Authority, Kanchanpur; Karna Bahadur KC, Sahadev Bogati and Purna Raj Joshi.
In this period, Yambahadur Bam (Doti), Prem Bahadur Singh (Bajhang), Ganesh Bahadur Singh (Bajhang), Padam Bahadur Bhandari (Bajhang), Mohan Bahadur Bam (Doti) and Yamraj Kunwar (Achham) have served as the executive director of the committee. The documents and information we received makes it clear that these chiefs and executive directors are the ones most responsible for the irregularities and corruption of massive scale in Khaptad.
