By Manjima Dhakal

Kathmandu, Nov. 27: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has started investigating into sick projects of the country.
Pradip Kumar Koirala, spokesperson of the CIAA said that it would finalise the investigation in the projects soon.
He said though the country has 1,848 sick projects, the CIAA started investigating into over100 extremely sick projects at present
The CIAA sought clarifications from all these projects over their delay in completion and started to investigating into the extremely seek projects. The CIAA has categorised the projects that have failed to accomplish 10 per cent progress even after receiving three or four time extensions for completing project as extremely sick projects.
Similarly, rise in the number of cases filed in the Special Court and arrests of individuals involved in corrupt activities are a testimony to a fact that the CIAA has increased its activeness in the first four months of the current fiscal year 2019/20.
The CIAA had broken the earlier records in terms of arrest of corrupt persons during the last year and it would again break the record this year, said Koirala.
According to Koirala, the CIAA had made 142 red-handed arrests last year whereas in the first four months of the current fiscal year it had made 70 red-handed arrests of persons involved in alleged corrupt acts.
Likewise, 351 cases were filed last year and 138 cases in the first four months of this fiscal year, Koirala informed.
On an average, 1.5 corruption cases were filed last year and this year an increase has been noticed in the ratio, he added.
Koirala said that the CIAA has succeeded arresting and filing cases against the individual involved in the corruption having a big amount.
This year, the CIAA arrested persons red-handed with a bribe of Rs. 80, 000 taken from the service seekers.
“The CIAA this year nabbed persons even for giving bribe. The CIAA has arrested five bribe providers till now. This is a reflection that it has become more active than it was earlier,” Koirala added.
Meanwhile, the CIAA has been receiving more complaints of corruption in the local levels in comparison to other areas.
“Cases of corruption have increased in local levels as some authorities of the local

bodies seem taking advantage of loopholes in laws and the transition. Likewise, complaints against irregularities in public bidding system, appointment of relatives in consumer committees are received by the CIAA,” he added.
After the local levels, the CIAA has been receiving more complaints on the fake academic certificates,
on land and other offices where service seekers have direct approach.
Though the CIAA received more complaints relating to those offices where public have direct touch, corruption may have been even in other sectors, but, public are unaware about this, Koirala said.
The CIAA has developed its own intelligence mechanism to identify the corruption cases which are not reported in the CIAA.
The CIAA has made a tremendous progress in its review report of last fiscal year breaking its 29 years’ history. Last year, CIAA got verdicts in favour of it in 88 per cent cases.