The National Assembly decided not to establish a new division under the National Properties, today.
The Governance Committee, during the summer session, had recommended establishing a division to manage seized goods and properties.
The finance minister, Namgay Dorji pointed out four major challenges the Department of National Properties will face if the new division is established.
Lyonpo said the challenges include Infrastructure, human resource, legal, and institutional.
“DNP is not mandated by any existing laws to manage goods seized by the enforcement agencies.”
He added the Office of the Attorney General is the agency responsible for ensuring safe custody of seized goods while the litigation is under process.
“However, the Office of Attorney General has not been able to fulfil this mandate given the lack of human resources capacity.”
While some supported the recommendation, some questioned how the seized properties will be handled.
The house agreed that the law enforcement agencies will continue to discharge their duties as per the existing laws.
