Nepal government on Wednesday formed a commission to investigate the properties of public office holders, including political leaders and senior civil servants, since 2006.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister, government spokesperson and Minister for Education, Science and Technology Sasmit Pokharel told reporters.
The five-member Property Investigation Commission will be headed by former Supreme Court justice Rajendra Kumar Bhandari, he said.
The panel also includes former justices Chandi Raj Dhakal and Purushottam Parajuli, former Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police Ganesh KC and chartered accountant Prakash Lamsal as members.
The commission has been mandated to collect and scrutinise asset declarations of major political office-bearers and high-ranking officials from 2006, when Nepal witnessed the People's Movement II, till the current fiscal year 2025-26.
The formation of the panel fulfils a commitment made by the government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah soon after assuming office. On March 27, the Cabinet had decided to set up such a mechanism within 15 days.
Asset transparency has long been a contentious issue in Nepal, often surfacing in public discourse amid allegations of corruption, misuse of authority and accumulation of unexplained wealth among public officials.
A panel has also been formed to study the role of the security mechanism in implementing the report of a probe commission on last year's Gen-Z protests, an official said on Wednesday.
A cabinet meeting held on Wednesday decided to constitute the panel led by former High Court judge Prem Raj Karki, according to government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel.
The other two members of the committee are former Armed Police Force Additional Inspector General Subodh Adhikari and former Nepal Police Additional Inspector General Tek Prasad Rai, said Pokharel, who is also Education Minister.
The panel has been tasked with studying the security-related matters while implementing the report submitted by the investigation commission led by Gauri Bahadur Karki, which was formed to probe the Gen Z protests of September 8 and 9, in which 76 people died.
According to Pokharel, the panel will review the functioning of the security apparatus in light of the findings of the probe commission and make recommendations accordingly.