SC demands govt’s written response on extension of lease period of Gokarna Forest Resort

The Supreme Court has issued an order in the name of Office of the Nepal Trust and Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to present its written response on the reason behind extending the lease period of Gokarna Forest Resort Pvt run under the Yeti Holdings Pvt while the lease was due in six years.

A single bench of apex court Justice Kumar Regmi here today issued the order to provide written response within fifteen days, responding to the writ petition filed by advocate Bishnu Luitel on January 10 this year naming Office of Prime Minister as the defendant.

The cabinet’s decision held on December 9 last year had extended the lease term of the agreement of the Resort for an additional 25 years by based on the legal provision that new agreement.

In the writ, it was said that the government had overlooked the provision as mentioned in the Public Procurement Act-2064 BS and Public Procurement Regulations-2063 BS that only demands leasing out the public land through open competition and calling for tender.

The land on which the resort is being run is under the ownership of the Nepal Trust and the Nepal Trust Acr-2064 and Nepal Trust Rule-2065 BS dictates that the land owned by the Trust be only sued for the education, health and academic sectors and bars its land for being used for other purposes, according to the writ.