RETIRED TOP OFFICIAL CONVICTED OF CORRUPTION Kathmandu, 23 Nov. : The Special Court has convicted former Joint-Secretary Arun Kumar Ranjitkar in a corruption case and sentenced him to one year in prison along with fines. The court has decided to confiscate Rs. 4.54 million, amount that he misappropriated and to charge fine equivalent to the amount misappropriated by him, RSS reports. A division bench headed by Court Chairman Gauri Bahadur Karki and comprising Court members Om Prakash Mishra and Kedar Prasad Chalise handed down a verdict to that end on Friday. Former Joint –Secretary Ranjitkar has been accused of embezzling 4.54 million while he was in government service. Delivering the verdict, the bench stated shares worth Rs. 4.067 million and the amount accruing from the shares in the name of Ranjitkar and members of his family would go to the government coffers, and the vehicle worth Rs. 400,000 and the shortfall of Rs. 77,803 would be confiscated from the bank savings. Of the property including house, land, vehicle, shares and bank balance totaling Rs. 25.208 million owned by Ranjitkar and his family, property equivalent to Rs. 20.6 million is legal and Rs. 4.5 million was found to be in excess to the legal income, the court stated in the verdict. It may be noted earlier the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had on March 1, 2005 filed a case of corruption against former government senior official Ranjitkar at the Court. But later, the Court on July 5, 2006 had quashed the case citing time- limit. Following the direction from the Supreme Court, the file relating to Ranjitkar´s case was opened again as per the Article 24 (A) of the Prevention OF Corruption Act on March 13, 2012. Ranjitkar had joined the government service in 2029 Bs as an assistant engineer and was retired from the post of joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works in the month of Bhadau 2058 BS. Nnnn INDO-NEPAL IRRIGATION TALKS Kathmandu, 23 Nov.: The Government is to raise with priority the issue of Gandak dam in the seventh meeting on the Koshi and Gandak Irrigation Project of the high-ranking officials of Nepal and India to be held next week, RSS reports. Matters relating to the washing away of land and damage caused to arable land by the Koshi and Gandak rivers, measures to prevent it, flood control, compensation and others will be discussed at the joint meeting to be held on November 27 and 28, according to Deputy Director General of the Department of Irrigation, Shiva Kumar Sharma. Reconstruction and renovation of damaged structures, resolution of the problem of floods caused by the two rivers, management of the project office and dealing with the difficulties faced in course of enforcement of the project are also scheduled to be discussed at the meeting. ´Our focus will be more on resolving the Gandak problem rather than that of Koshi´, Sharma said while referring to the challenging task of renovating the Gandak dam damaged by floods in September. More than 100,000 people will be displaced while Narsahi, Paklihawa, Guthi Parsauni, Guthi Suryapura, Bedauli, Thulo Khairatawa, Ramapurwa, Somani, Rampur Khadauna, Kudia and Pratappur VDCs of Nawalparasi are likely to be submerged if the dam is not renovated before coming monsoon, it is stated. According to the Gandak agreement reached between Nepal and India in 1959, the flood control, renovation and reforms that fall under the Gandak canal barrage, dam and related areas are the responsibility of the India side. Likewise, the Indian side is expected to raise issues relating to facilitation of the import of construction material and transportation procedures, structural measures and unmanaged settlements in the project enforcement area, Deputy Director General Sharma said. The Indian side is being led by the Chief of the Department of Water Resources of Bihar, India, Afjal Amanullah. The nine-member delegation is expected to arrive to Kathmandu on Monday, according to Spokesperson of the Indian Embassy, Piyush Srivastava. The meeting is held annually and alternately in Nepal and India. The seventh meeting would also review the progress of the meeting held last year in Rajgir city of Bihar, India. Director General of the Department of Irrigation, Khom Raj Nepal is leading the Nepali delegation including officials of the Ministries of Irrigation, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Home, and representatives of the Water and Power Commission, among others. nnnn