INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, May 2
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gokul Baskota nowadays said that no one involved in encroaching the
government land, including that of Lalita Niwas, can go scot-free as the government is committed to bringing the culprits to book.
The
minister was addressing mediapersons at the weekly press briefing of the Cabinet decisions
Minister Baskota said the government would take action against all those involved in the Lalita Niwas land seize case.
At the programme,
reporters had inquired about the government stance on Bishnu Paudel, general secretary of the ruling Nepal Communist portiony (NCP), and the
opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, who are linked with the Lalita Niwas case
Mediapersons had also sought clarification from the minister to the claim by the family of late Nepali Congress leader Subarna Sumsher Rana
who said that the government had occupied their land at Lalita Niwas without paying due compensation.
Replying to queries, Minister Baskota
said the government would acquire the land at all cost and that it would much pay compensation to anyone
&Be it a member from the ruling party or the opposition party, the government shall retain its land and those involved in the scam shall be
penalised as per the law,& he said.
Lalita Niwas land encroachment issue surfaced after a probe committee led by former under-secretary
Sharada Prasad Trital found that ‘land mafia,& in collusion with officials of Land Revenue Office, Dillibazar, had transferred ownership
of 113.3 ropanis of land belonging to the government to private citizens between 1991 and 2017.
&In fact, the land seize issue came out
thanks to the initiative of our government
But there are people who blame us for the encroachment which is totally wrong,& Minister Baskota said.
