Passport Director General Tirtha Raj Aryal Defends E-Passport Contract, Rejects CIAA’s Rs 10 Billion Corruption…

Kathmandu. Director General of Department of Passports, Tirtha Raj Aryal has defended the procurement process for the electronic passport printing and system contract, claiming it was conducted legally, transparently, and in a manner that benefited the state financially.

In statements provided during the investigation into the passport procurement case, Aryal rejected allegations made by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), which has filed a corruption case in the Special Court claiming losses exceeding Rs 10 billion.

According to the charge sheet, Aryal stated that the new procurement reduced the government's financial burden compared to the previous arrangement.

“Even without accounting for price increases, the new procurement has reduced the state's financial burden. Previously, each passport cost 10.13 US dollars, whereas under the competitive procurement process it now costs 8.62 dollars,” Aryal said in his statement.

Aryal argued that due to a shortage of technical personnel within the department, a procurement committee was formed by involving experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant agencies.

Explaining the decision not to continue with the previous supplier, IDEMIA, he said, “We had to procure a new system because the support and maintenance proposal submitted by the existing supplier was not cost-effective.”

He also denied receiving any personal benefit from the procurement process.

“I have neither taken any benefit nor received any personal gain. All decisions were made in accordance with the law, and no act falling under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 was committed,” Aryal stated.

According to him, the cost estimate prepared by the department enabled passports to be procured at a lower price than under the previous contract, ultimately benefiting the government.

“The claim that obtaining passports at a lower cost resulted in a loss to the state is not based on facts,” he said.

The CIAA, however, alleges that Aryal unlawfully divided the procurement into two separate packages and awarded contracts to a technically unqualified company.

Aryal has disputed the allegation, arguing that splitting the procurement into separate packages increased competition and helped lower costs for the government.

He also defended the acceptance of a rack server instead of the blade server specified in the tender documents, describing it as a “minor deviation” that had no impact on the system’s performance.

The anti-graft body, meanwhile, maintains that Aryal abused his position and caused significant financial losses to the state. The CIAA has sought recovery of Rs 10,130,461,477 from the defendants in the case.

According to the charge sheet, Aryal proceeded with a new procurement process without conducting technical assessments of existing equipment and awarded contracts through collusion and with improper intent.

The CIAA has demanded fines and imprisonment under Section 8(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059. It has also sought additional punishment under Section 19(2) for allegedly preparing false reports and under Section 24, citing Aryal’s position as the head of a public institution.

पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: असार १०, २०८३ १६:५३