The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against 17 individuals and entities, including three former secretaries, concerning alleged irregularities in the Melamchi Water Supply Project at the Special Court on Sunday.

Former secretaries Sanjay Sharma, Bhim Upadhyay, and Gajendra Thakur are among the defendants named in the chargesheet, along with other key figures associated with the project. Immediate board members, including Mukunda Prasad Paudel and Rudra Singh Tamang, as well as executive directors Ghan Shyam Bhattarai, Ramchandra Devkota, and Surya Raj Kandel, have also been charged.

The case extends to under-secretaries and officials at the board, including Manibhadra Neupane, Begnath Poudel, Kedar Prasad Aryal, and Bhojbikram Thapa, among others. Additionally, individuals from the consulting firm Eptisa BETS J/V, the consulting firm itself, and the contractor—Co-operativa Muratori e Cementisti di Ravenna, Italy.

The CIAA has alleged that illicit payments were facilitated through government assets, leading to significant financial harm. The cited amounts per defendant vary from Rs890 million to Rs41.13 million, causing losses to the government.

Investigations reveal financial mismanagement, including unjustified payments to the Italian construction company CMC di Ravenna. Despite purportedly not carrying out any work on the project, the company received significant sums under the running bill IPC 34.

Furthermore, rental charges for machinery and materials were reportedly paid without proper deductions.