Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota has said the government will not spare anyone involved in Baluwatar land grab.
"The government cannot spare anyone be it four-star (Nepali Congress) or red-star (communists) in the issue of grabbing government land in Baluwatar," Minister Baskota said addressing the weekly press conference at the Singha Durbar on Thursday.
He pointed that the current government had formed the probe committee to investigate encroachment of government land in Baluwatar. He alleged that the ruling CPN is being targeted after General Secretary Bishnu Paudel was dragged in the issue.
He also falsely claimed that he never said those who have procured land in Baluwatar should be compensated. "I have not said those buying government land should be compensated. I have been unfairly attacked," he claimed. "If anyone has procured land there, it's gone. The government will not give compensation."
But addressing a press conference at the same place three weeks ago, he had claimed that Bishnu Paudel has been cheated and should be compensated as a victim.
Answering queries about implication of NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba in the scam, he said investigations will not be stopped. "It is not a question of Bishnu, Deuba or Suvarna Shumsher. The government will investigate no matter who is implicated in the issue. The investigation process will not be stopped."
Paudel has been dragged in the encroachment of government land in Baluwatar with eight annas of the grabbed land transferred in the name of his son Navin
The government had formed the probe committee under former secretary Sharada Prasad Trital following complaints that government land at Baluwatar has been transferred to some individuals. The committee had submitted the report to the government in December 2018 concluding that the land transferred to individuals belonged to the government.
The committee had advised the government to ask the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police to investigate how ownership of the land was transferred to individuals and investigate the state of such government land across the country.
The committee stated that the then king Mahendra after the coup in 1961 had confiscated 14 ropanis land of Nepali Congress leader Suvarna Shumsher Rana and his father Kanchan Shumsher in Baluwatar. The government four years later acquired 285 ropanis of Rana's land in Baluwatar by paying compensation.
The PM's residence, chief justice's residence, speaker's residence and the central office of Nepal Rastra Bank are currently situated in 172 ropanis out of that 285 ropanis.
Land mafia in connivance with staffers at the Land Revenue Office has transferred ownership of the remaining 113 ropanis of land to different individuals, the committee has concluded. The land owned by Paudel is out of that 113 ropanis.
