Kathmandu, Oct 7: The giant 15-storey building lying in Thamel, the heart of Kathmandu, housing the Chhayadevi Complex, has reportedly encroached on the public land worth millions of rupees, it has been revealed. The business group of Prithivi Bahadur Pandey, who is chairperson of the Nepal Investment Bank Limited (now Nepal Investment Mega Bank Limited) has been accused of involvement in the land encroachment.
The local people since the beginning have been protesting the building citing the land in which the building has been erected belongs to the Bhagawan Bahal Guthi. Ultimately, the case landed in the Supreme Court. However, in defiance, the complex was constructed at the same time when the case was sub-judice in the apex court. According to the locals, there was a pond of a public Guthi where the building has been erected now. The place, where there was a pond in the past, was a holy place for releasing ‘pinda’ (a ball of rice or flour offered to ancestors) after conducting ‘shradha’, a ritual performed to pay homage to ancestors.
How was the public land captured?
According to evidences, land frauds started when then the Rana ruler Keshar Shumsher forcibly took the pond in lease for 125 moru annually in 1977 BS. Not only Keshar Shumsher, his son Keyur Shumsher had dried up some parts of the pond to own the land. Later, Keyur Shumsher tried to impose tenancy rights in Kamalpokhari as per the provisions related to tenant under Clause 25 of the Lands Act, 2021. However, the land of the Guthi could not be registered in his name as per Clause 25 (4) of the amended Guthi Corporation Act, 2033 that provisions that no religious as well as public barren land where shrines are situated or which is related with temples, festivals, worships and feasts shall be registered in the name of any person. Even if such land has been registered, the Corporation may void the registration of such a land.
But on 4 November, 1996, Keyur reduced the actual 29.5 ropani land of the Guthi to 12 ropani, 13 aana, two poisa and two dam in the field book of the survey office (plot number 167). Later, the 12 ropani land was divided between the land lords and tenants. Later, Keyur’s name was added as the tenant. However, the Shree Singhsartha Bahu Garud Bhagawan Guthi was mentioned as the land owner in the land ownership certificate.
On 1 February, 1991, Ambika Rana Shah, spouse of Keyur Shumsher, registered the land (plot number 167) in the name of herself and her brother Shankar Prasad Shah. Against this, the Guthi Corporation filed a case in the Kathmandu District Court, but lost. Although the Appellate Court in 2053 BS ruled in favour of the Guthi, Ambika Rana repossessed the land after some authorised people of the Shree Singhsartha Bahu Garud Bhagawan Guthi reached an agreement in the Supreme Court in 2005 BS. However, the Guthi was unaware of this agreement.
A year after the settlement, Ambika in 2063 BS divided the Kamalpokhari-based land from plot number 1618 into nine ropani, nine aana, two poisa and two dam (plot number 2412), and sold it to Sureshaya Housing owned by herself for over Rs 31 million.
A year after selling the land, the Housing again in 2064 BS sold the land to Pratima Pandey Rana. Likewise, Ambika’s brother Shankar Prasad also sold the land (plot number 1616 and 1617) to Pratima for Rs 18 million.
Later, Pratima transferred all the land to her mother-in-law and in 2005 BS, the land was sold to the Chhayadevi Complex chaired by Pratima’s spouse Pandey for over Rs 46 million. Keyur and Pandey seem to be the mastermind of the plan.
Maheshwor Prakash Shrestha, managing director of the Chhayadevy Complex, admits that the 12 ropani land where the building has been erected belonged to the Guthi earlier. He however claimed that they bought the land after it was transferred in the name of individuals after going through the legal process.
The Chhayadevi Complex has investments of four major banks and 43 renowned people including Pandey, Nirmal Pradhan, Deepakman Sherchan, Maheshwor Prakash, Yogendra Shakya, Suman Pandey and Prajanya Rajbhandari, it has been said.
