Batas says probe committee made report public without consulting stakeholders

Published On: January 12, 2022 03:21 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Jan 12: Batas Organization, which was dragged into a controversy over the issue of leasing land to build infrastructure including a restaurant inside the Narayanhiti Palace Museum, has said that the probe committee formed to carry out an investigation into the decision made its report public without any research and without consulting the stakeholders.

Issuing a statement on Wednesday, the organization said that after renting the cafeteria in the museum area with very strict conditions for only three years and having invested more than Rs 30 million with a plan to invest more than Rs 50 million there, the organization was illegally attacked and physical structures were destroyed.

Meanwhile, the organization also claimed that it paid the rent as per the letter received on the previous day while the structures were destroyed the next day. Ananda Raj Batas, chairman of the organization, said, “No influence or pressure was exerted by the Batas Organization during the signing of the agreement. But the news media made the agreement appear like a 'setting'.”

The statement justified Batas' relationship with political leaders and high-level officials as natural. “As Batas Group is active in Pokhara - a major tourist destination, it is active in business related to public service, tourism, transportation and health sector in Pokhara. It is natural to have positive relationships of dimension,” it read. “Such a relationship is not something we should hide, nor is it something to be covered in the media. But there is no truth in the common misconceptions about our clean, transparent and natural relationships. It is not necessary to make such allegations.”

“We would like to categorically reject the allegation that we have an immoral and self-centered relationship with the personalities of all classes and levels,” the statement further added.

The organization said that the Government of Nepal is free to cancel all business agreements entered into by the Batas Organization in accordance with the law. However, it has stated there would be no objection from the organization if the government provides it with proper compensation.