KATHMANDU: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives has directed the government to scrap the decision to hand over land in the Ramgram area on lease to a private party for 99 years.
A meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) took the decision after studying the documents related to the agreement that the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) reached with the Singapore-based firm Moksha Foundation for the Ramgram development plan without undergoing any competitive bidding process.
The committee had directed the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation to furnish all the documents related to the agreement on January 30.
LDT has signed an agreement to lease out 116 bighas of land to a private company to construct a stupa in the Ramgram area of Nawalparasi.
“The PAC directs the government to scrap all the agreements and works reached by the Lumbini Development Trust related to Ramgram with immediate effect,” PAC Chairman Rishikesh Pokharel said after the meeting on Sunday.
Ramgram is believed to be one of the eight stupas where Lord Buddha’s relics were housed.
Moksha Foundation has collaborated with the Nepali firm, Promised Land, to execute the plan. Promised Land is the company owned by the son of Sharada Prasad Adhikari, a close ally of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Himal Press
11 Feb 2024
