The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under the House of Representatives (HoR) has directed to annul the agreement to acquire a piece of land in the Ramgram Area in Lumbini which included leasing it to a private company for 99 years

The parliamentary panel reviewed financial resources for the research, development, and conservation related to the Ramgram Area and directed the government to scrap the deal between the Lumbini Development Trust and Pramista Land Ltd – a private company.

The committee had previously discussed with the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati, Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Deepak Kafle, Lumbini Development Trust’s Vice-President Dr. Lharkyal Lama, and others on this issue.

During the discussions, the parliamentary committee members argued that the contract should be canceled as it was awarded without a competitive bidding process, procurement laws were not abided, commercial infrastructures were being built by omitting the existence of the religious site and the fact that the private company has a controversial background.

The parliamentary panel has directed the stakeholders not to develop any infrastructures in the Lumbini Area against the standards set by the UNESCO and Department of Archeology.

The parliamentary panel has also directed the government to allocate a budget for the land acquisition in the Ramgram area.