Sudurpaschim audio leak reveals big corruption in forestry

Leaked conversation exposes efforts to fast-track sal logging. Accused minister admits to chat and quits, but calls it a political attack by rivals.

Sudurpaschim province’s Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Laxman Kishore Chaudhary was forced to resign on Saturday after an audio recording surfaced, exposing his involvement in a scheme with timber smugglers to harvest sal (shorea robusta) trees for financial gain. The leaked conversation, which emerged about a week ago, revealed that Chaudhary was in discussions with former forest minister and CPN-UML politburo member Narad Muni Rana, along with several unnamed timber traders, to orchestrate a large-scale deforestation in an organised manner.