ADB clean chit to Deuba on contract

The royal regime8217;s determined effort to frame former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba in the multi-million dollar Melamchi drinking water project suffered a major blow as the lead project donor, the Asian Development Bank ADB, found no irregularity in the award of the contract.

Almost coinciding with the ADB report, Norway withdrew its grant from the multi-donor 464 million project, which appears to be on the verge of collapse, the first major casualty of the February 1 royal coup. A Norwegian Embassy statement linked the withdrawal to the coup.

The ADB8217;s Integrity Committee findings came days before the Royal Commission on Corruption RCC was to deliver its verdict indicting top politicians and bureaucrats on charges of corruption in awarding the contract.