Rastriya Swatantra Party MP Challenges PM Over Corruption at Pokhara International Airport

Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Ganesh Parajuli has challenged Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to take decisive action against those implicated in massive corruption linked to Pokhara International Airport.

Speaking during Sunday’s meeting of the House of Representatives, MP Parajuli questioned whether the government had the courage to act against individuals involved in the alleged misappropriation of over Rs 10 billion. He demanded the formation of a high-level, independent judicial committee to investigate the corruption surrounding the airport’s construction.

Highlighting findings from the Public Accounts Committee, which uncovered irregularities in a project built under a Rs 22 billion loan agreement, Parajuli stressed that the scandal had seriously damaged Nepal’s reputation internationally. He noted that despite the airport’s construction, its runway failed to meet the required specifications, and operational flights beyond test runs have yet to commence.

“The list of corruption cases is longer than the runway itself,” Parajuli remarked, criticizing the government’s inaction. “While the international community continues to expose Nepal’s corruption scandals, are you, Prime Minister, still going to claim you neither engage in corruption nor tolerate it, while doing nothing when corruption festers right under your nose?”

Parajuli further reminded the Prime Minister that he personally signed the airport’s construction agreement in 2071 BS (2014 AD), and despite its inauguration in 2079 BS (2023 AD), the airport remains largely non-functional.

The Public Accounts Committee’s subcommittee had earlier prepared a report alleging large-scale corruption worth over Rs 10 billion at the Pokhara Regional International Airport project.