Kathmandu: Nepal’s new Prime Minister Balendra Shah has NPR 14.6 million in his bank account, according to property details made public on Sunday by the Prime Minister along with other members of his Cabinet.
As per the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002, Ministers and other high-level government officials are required to submit their asset details to designated government bodies within 60 days of assuming office.
However, there is no provision requiring those details to be made public.
Nevertheless, in line with the principles of good governance and transparency, there has been a tradition of disclosing such information.
According to the details released by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, PM Balendra Shah has listed Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify as his sources of income.
The asset declaration also shows that Shah’s mother, Dhruvadevi Shah, owns 5 aana of land (158.98 square metres) in Kathmandu and 1.2 bigha (8,286.14 square metres) of land in Dhanusha district in southern Madhes Province.
His father, Ramnarayan Shah, owns 9 bigha (61,112.62 square metres) of land in Mahottari district.
Similarly, Shah’s wife, Sabina Kafle, owns 190 tolas of precious metals, including gold and silver (not specified).
Other Cabinet members, including Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Home Minister Sudhan Gurung, have also disclosed their property details.
Nepal has generally followed the practice of Prime Ministers and Cabinet Ministers publicly disclosing their property details since the restoration of democracy in 1990.
However, some governments in the past have not followed this practice.
For instance, after the formation of the government led by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in July 2024, Cabinet members did not disclose their property details.
Similarly, a previous government led by Sushila Karki also failed to make such disclosures.
(IANS)
