The government is preparing to question Kulman Ghising, the recently dismissed Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), in a parliamentary committee regarding allegations of financial irregularities. Ghising was removed from his position following a decision by the Council of Ministers on Monday. Amid public protests against his dismissal, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives has decided to initiate an investigation into complaints related to his tenure.

The committee, chaired by CPN (UML) leader Hrishikesh Pokharel, had previously raised concerns about the NEA's handling of trunk lines and dedicated feeders supplied to industries. It alleged that NEA’s failure to maintain proper records resulted in revenue losses for the state treasury due to delayed billing. In July, PAC had attempted to recommend an investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and other government agencies, but the probe did not move forward at the time. Controversy arose after Pokharel was accused of privately meeting an industrialist with unpaid dues at a hotel and allegedly collaborating with the industrialist’s lawyer to draft a proposal against Ghising. Strong opposition from committee members halted the process then, but with Ghising’s removal, the government has moved forward with preparations to summon him for questioning.

According to a PAC source, the committee is preparing to investigate various allegations against the NEA. One of the key accusations is that NEA officials colluded with contractors to divide project bids issued by the state-owned utility into smaller packages valued at less than Rs 1 billion. This allegedly led to an artificial increase in the cost of iron-based materials, with procurement agreements signed at inflated rates, causing financial losses to the state. The investigation is also expected to cover suspected irregularities in the construction of the Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa 400 kV Nepal-India electricity trade and transmission line. Concerns have been raised regarding corruption in the NEA’s procurement process, including the alleged manipulation of project evaluations. A new evaluation committee was reportedly formed under a director close to Ghising, instead of allowing the re-evaluation to be carried out by the original committee as per the Public Procurement Review Committee’s decision.

Additional concerns include claims that NEA inflated its financial reports to show fake profits and allegations of tariff irregularities in dedicated feeders and trunk lines. Questions have also been raised about the detailed engineering bid process of the Karnali Chisapani Multipurpose Project. While the government is gearing up to grill Ghising in the parliamentary committee, the PAC has formed a subcommittee led by Prem Bahadur Ale, with Aman Lal Modi and Shyam Kumar Ghimire as members, to examine the complaints. A subcommittee member told New Business Age that preparations are underway to proceed with the investigation, and Ghising will be summoned to provide clarifications.

Ghising’s removal has triggered strong opposition both within and outside the ruling coalition. Nepali Congress general secretary duo Bishwaprakash Sharma and Gagan Thapa criticized the decision on Monday night. The CPN (Maoist Center), the main opposition party, issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the move as “malicious and objectionable,” accusing the government of acting in the interests of middlemen. Several other parties, including the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, have also opposed the decision.

In a statement on Tuesday, the RSP accused the government of being “corrupt, ineffectual, and revenge-driven,” claiming that it was shielding wrongdoers and favoring brokers. The party also criticized the government for misleading the public. While leaving the cabinet meeting on Monday, the government spokesperson had initially denied Ghising’s removal. However, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung later confirmed that the cabinet had decided to dismiss Ghising and appoint Hitendra Dev Shakya as his replacement.