Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: A parliamentary committee is preparing to reexamine Hyatt Regency Kathmandu’s land lease dispute.
The International Relations and Tourism Committee of the House of Representatives has started an internal study into the land lease dispute. The committee held preliminary discussions on August 11.
During the meeting, members of the committee engaged in extensive discussions about the Taragaon Development Committee and Taragaon Regency Hotels Ltd, which owns Hyatt Regency Kathmandu, with Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey, Tourism Secretary Dr Ganesh Prasad Pandey and other officials.
The parliamentary committee has been studying the land lease dispute for the past three decades. Although other agencies like the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police, and parliamentary committees including the Public Accounts Committee and International Relations Committee have studied the land lease dispute, the issue still remains unresolved.
Chairperson of the International Relations and Tourism Committee, Raj Kishor Yadav, said they were hopeful of reaching a solution now. “We are hopeful of taking this land lease dispute to a conclusion now,” he added.
According to Yadav, the committee has begun its internal study by requesting information about the purpose of establishing the Taragaon Development Committee, the status of its 304 ropani land, and the implementation status of previous investigations and directives.
Controversial Since Inception
The government established the Taragaon Development Committee in 1977 under the tourism ministry for the development of the tourism sector. It currently operates homestays, hotels, and restaurants. The committee has remained in controversy sine its decision to involve in Hyatt Regency Kathmandu.
According to tourism secretary Dr Pandey, an agreement was reached between the Taragaon Development Committee, the ICTC Group, and hotelier Radheshyam Saraf in October 1992 to jointly operate a world-class hotel. As per the agreement, 150 ropani of land under the committee’s ownership was transferred to Taragaon Regency Hotels Ltd in May, 1994. The committee decided to lease another 148 ropani to Taragaon Regency Hotels Ltd for 49 years.
Hyatt Regency Kathmandu has been in operation since August 1999. The land lease dispute reached parliament even before the hotel launched its operation. The Public Accounts Committee conducted a study in 1993, directing a reassessment of the land lease deal in April 1994.
In 2019, the International Relations Committee instructed the government to return of 150 ropani of land, where the hotel stands, under the committee’s name. The Auditor General’s Report for fiscal year 2019/20 also said that the land rent should be revised as per the market rates.
Secretary Pandey acknowledges that previous directives, including those from the 1993 Public Accounts Committee, appear to have been disregarded. He believes a thorough study is necessary to prevent illegal profiteering and state exploitation.
Problem due to Government Ownership
As per the hotel project report prepared in 1994, the capital of the hotel was set at Rs 1 billion with the committee holding 22.67% of shares. Since then, the committee’s share ownership has steadily declined. It initially dropped to 22.50%, then to 15.62% in 2006, 10.15% in 2007 and currently stands at just 9.01% as of 2014.
This reduction has been attributed to the government’s failure to provide additional funds for hotel improvements, upgrades and capacity development.
“As the committee, or the Nepal government, couldn’t invest when Taragaon Regency Hotels Ltd issued the right shares, this led to a reduction of the committee’s shares in Taragaon Regency Hotels Ltd to 9.01%,” Secretary Pandey said.
The fact that discussions about the Taragaon Development Committee’s land have been ongoing for 31 years without resolution has raised suspicions about the intentions of responsible officials, according to some leaders.
Madhav Kumar Nepal, chairperson of the CPN (Unified Socialist), said the Taragaon Development Committee has become a burden for the government. His understanding is that the land, hotels, and restaurants under Taragaon’s ownership are not being properly utilized. “If it is to be given to the private sector for effective management, it should be done so. It shouldn’t remain as a burden,” Nepal added.
