Ban on sale of Kavre land in the name of Patanjali

During the investigation, circulars were issued to freeze the land in the name of Patanjali. CIB Spokesperson SP Hovindra Bogti said that a letter has been sent to freeze the land for investigation as Patanjali has illegally bought and sold land and committed an offense against the Limitation Act. An official of the Authority also revealed that a letter was sent to freeze the land in Kavre in the name of Patanjali only on Monday.

A letter was sent to Dhulikhel Malpot to freeze more than 274 ropani 6 annas in Banepa and 88 ropani in Dhulikhel. According to the letter, Malpot has withheld the land. Along with this, the land cannot be bought or sold until the case of Patanjali's embezzlement by taking land under limited exemption is investigated and judicial decision is made. The authority has been investigating this case since a few months ago.

After conducting a detailed investigation into Patanjali's land embezzlement, the Cabinet of Ministers led by the then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal gave permission to Patanjali to purchase 815 ropani of land in Kavre on 18 January 2066. After that, 593 ropani 5 annas land in Banepa's Mahendra Jyoti, Chalal Ganesthan, Nasikasthan and Sanga were purchased in the name of Patanjali. Out of that 353 ropani 15 annas were sold against the law. An officer involved in the investigation said that apart from the purchased land, Guthika and public land were also taken in the name of Patanjali in some places.

The official says that allowing Patanjali to buy and sell Guthi's and public land is not only bad but also a flagrant violation of the law. According to the purpose for which the restricted land was bought, without operating the industry, Patanjali sold 353 plants and bought only 88 plants in Dhulikhel. According to the Land Act 2021, the land purchased with limited concession cannot be used or sold for other purposes contrary to the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Patanjali sold 353 ropani 15 annas land of Banepa to Kasthamandap Business Homes Pvt. The authority is investigating the fact that the amount received from the sale has been used to buy the same amount elsewhere, causing damage to the state and illegal purchase and sale of demarcated land. The CIB has also started an investigation into the land embezzlement case. The then Prime Minister of Nepal, the then Minister of Land Reforms Dambar Shrestha, officials/employees including secretary Chhabiraj Pant, Patanjali's directors, staff of land surveyors and land surveyors, who approved the purchase and sale of land against the demarcation law, have been pulled into the scope of investigation.

Indian yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali has received 353 plantation concessions. Section 12 of the Land Act 2021 has clearly explained the conditions and restrictions to be followed, including the equivalent quantity of the land to be leased, the value of the land, and the land value, if the restricted land is to be transferred to another place after being registered as a speculative land. In Nepal, Patanjali Yogapeeth and Ayurveda Company is registered as a non-profit trust. It was registered in the records of the company registrar's office on 20th December 2064 and currently it seems that Yogi Ramdev, Balkrishna Acharya, Shaligram Singh, Rajendra Singh and Umesh Sarraf are the directors. Shaligram Singh appears to be acting on behalf of Patanjali Nepal in all its transactions in Nepal. In 2066, it seems that the transaction was done through him even when land was bought and sold under the restriction exemption.

Baburam Acharya, the former secretary of the Ministry of Land Reforms, says that it is illegal to buy and sell the land obtained by Patanjali against the terms and conditions of the agreement. He said that whoever is involved in the illegal decision-making process should be brought to justice. "Land is a permanent asset of the state that will last as long as the country exists, that's why a legal arrangement has been envisaged to determine how much land an individual can keep, under what conditions and restrictions for industry/institutions to use it," former secretary Acharya told Kantipur, "someone has acquired land contrary to the provisions of limited exemptions. If there is misuse or violation of the conditions, it should be investigated and brought under the scope of action.' Last November, the Authority had instructed the Land Management and Records Department to conduct an internal investigation and submit a report on Patanjali's purchase and sale of demarcated land. After the authority's instructions, the department formed an investigation committee under the coordination of Lok Bahadur Bhandari, chief shipping officer of Bhaktapur. The committee submitted a report with the opinion that further investigation should be conducted on the misuse of demarcated land. On the basis of that, the Authority has taken statements from 10 employees so far that they are conducting a detailed investigation on this subject.

The audit committee started investigating Patanjali's demarcated land. was instructed. It is evident from the documents that the government has given permission to Patanjali to buy land in Kavre at a limited discount to run an Ayurvedic university, research center, Yogashala, Ayurvedic medicine industry, herb cultivation, cow farm, etc.

In the Land Act, 2021, 11 bighas in the Terai region, 25 ropani in Kathmandu and 75 ropani in the hilly areas have been set. A person or his family can keep 1 bigha in terai and inner Madhesh, 5 ropani in Kathmandu valley and 5 ropani in hilly areas besides the valley if necessary in the household. However, there is a provision that land can be purchased from the government at a limited discount by confirming the need to operate industries/businesses, organizations, etc. It is mentioned in the law that the government can confiscate the land bought with limited concession if it is misused or used contrary to the conditions. If it is confirmed that Patanjali has misappropriated the demarcated land, this land will come in the name of the government.