Kathmandu, July 17: A committee formed to probe the procurement of satellite bandwidth of the Nepal Television (no name Public Service Broadcasting Nepal) has submitted its report to the government today.
The report, submitted to Minister for Information and Communication Dr Bikram Timilsina today, has revealed serious malaises, including unlawful procurement and contract with satellite bandwidth at different times, procedural weaknesses, violations of fiduciary discipline, and financial loss to the institution.
Acting on the reports from the Office of the Auditor General, matters of public concern and complains from various agencies regarding the purchase of satellite bandwidth, the Ministry of Communications had formed a study committee on 5 June 2026.
In the report submitted by this committee to the ministry today, it mentions that the procurement processes at various times violated the Public Procurement Act, 2063, and the Public Procurement Regulations, 2064, resulting in financial losses to Nepal Television.
The report states that the irregularities caused losses amounting to approximately Rs 206.17 million.
During the purchase of satellite bandwidth, a competitive process was not followed, and the contract duration was extended at the previous rate, the report noted.
“Payment was made even before the service started, and after the service began, bills for higher amounts were also paid. The cost estimates were unreasonably increased, leading to the purchase of more bandwidth than needed,” it is stated.
The committee submitted a detailed report to the ministry stating that in 2012, a technically failed bidder was selected for the service purchase.
Similarly, the report points out that when the ‘design life’ of the satellite being used was about to end, an agreement was made to buy an additional 10 MHz bandwidth from the same service provider.
The report also highlighted that in the process of paying for satellite bandwidth, taxes and other revenue obligations that should have gone into the Nepal government’s revenue account were not fully complied with. #nepal #rss
