Ram Kumari’s ‘compulsion’ and Binod Chaudhary’s ‘intense’ profits

Dollar billionaire Binod Chaudhary and his business group have not left any area untouched. And no matter how rich they are, they have deployed Indian employees in every company for tax evasion. Crypto trader Amit Shrestha went to jail last week for taking money abroad from selling shares in Bishal Cement, but there is no authority to check the situation when the Chaudhary group takes money out of the country against the law and does not bring it in from outside.

This same group has been found to be involved in altering standards for another ambitious apartment project under construction in Lalitpur, against the background of not receiving building completion certificate for the erection of non-standard (10-storey building with 2-floor basement parking and 38 meters height) Hotel Chitwan and CG Landmark Mall from the Metropolitan Municipality. There too, when the problem of standards started to arise, he callously used the minister to avoid possible trouble, which the parliamentary committee has taken as a ‘serious notice’ and proceeded with the disciplinary process.

It has been found that the standard has been changed by publishing a notice in the gazette after realizing the possible problem that may arise when the Chaudhary Group got engaged in the work of demolishing the old Hotel Summit located at Sanepa height and building hundreds of modern apartments costing at least 40 million per flat. After the local elections, the CPN-S started the process of changing the ministers, the Prime Minister of MP Chaudhary affiliated party, hesitanted for a long time change the Madhav Nepal team, the standards were suddenly changed in between and the concerned minister denied to leave the post and residence even until the end of Ashar, the end of the financial year in which the standards are enforced to be implemented. The development committee chaired by Honorable Kalyani Khadka of his own party proceeded with the investigation process stating flaw in the decision and his colleague minister Metmani Choudhary also formed a task force for this purpose. These all show that Chaudhary does not have clean intention.

As said, “Wherever you touch, you find it torn”,  Chaudhary Group, which has repeatedly increased the price of Wai Wai Noodles that is consumed by the common people from 15 to 25 rupees amidst of the corona crisis, is found to have flaws in the very beginning of the ‘Dream Project’ which they have initiated.

At the end of her tenure, Former Urban Development Minister Ramkumari Jhankri made a second amendment to the ‘Standards for Settlement Development, Urban Planning and Building Construction 2078’ and implemented a new arrangement for apartment construction from Jestha 16. Since Chaudhary’s apartment adopted one method on the building design and another in the construction and practice, a serious dispute arose from the initial phase of the construction. It is said that the ‘set back’ of the building is different from the approved design and practice. Set back means the area left around the land occupied by the building. Within the Ministry, there are people who suspect that a deal worth crores might have been made for the wrong design of the building even before the change of minister on Ashar 13th.

The Kathmandu Valley Development Authority source has said that the construction of the apartment is against the standards while the development and technology committee of the federal parliament has considered that the new standards have been ‘serious attention’ due to the seriousness of the matter. According to the order of the parliamentary committee given on 3rd Shrawan, the ministry has formed an expert committee.

The committee’s letter states that the serious attention has been drawn about the amendment of the standards and asked to discuss with experts and stakeholders to determine the standards in a scientific manner.

The committee formed in conjunction with the ‘second man’ of Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, Navraj Pyakurel, includes representatives of the Ministry, Department of Mines and Geology, experts and representatives of municipal associations. Rupsan i.e. Urban Development Society is also involved in it. The decision to form the committee was made in the third week of Shrawan with the mandate of two weeks.

Choudhary Group sources replied that the construction started after getting permission from the government agency like in Bharatpur. It claims that all the work is done within the procedure as it can be done after obtaining the planning permit from the government.

Minister Jhankri’s sudden decision has brought a situation where large buildings can be made 10 percent higher than before. After this arrangement, the company which has originally planned to build 100 flats can add up to 10 flats. The price of which even at the rate of 5 crores easily becomes 50 crores. Tossing away 2-4 crores as such is like digesting a pickle. Since no one has taken approval for the construction of such a building after the amendment of standards, it is clear that this work has been done to facilitate Chaudhary’s company.

After the new standards, not only towering buildings will be built in the city, but also the area of ​​land that they have to vacate will become narrower. Hence the parliamentary committee informed that serious attention has been drawn. Retired high-ranking employees say that this is the main reason why the secretary of the same ministry and the DG of building development are frequently transferred.

Secretaries were repeatedly transferred during the short term of Minister Jhankri. After transferring Dr. Ramesh Kumar Singh, Mani Ram Gelal had been brought who has been transferred again after 4 months to bring Ramesh Singh back. In 8 months, three DGs have also changed, including Navraj Pyakurel, Padam Mainali and Ramchandra Dangal. A super luxurious apartment is being erected at Kupandol Height in Lalitpur with the investment of Chaudhary Group and NE Group. As per the approval he has received, the area of the apartment named ‘The Summit Hotel and Residence’ to be built on an area of 16191.15 square meters, with 113 rooms and a capacity of 200 beds. The old standards have been twisted to favor the same apartment.

The standards introduced after the great cataclysmic earthquake of 2072 B.S. during settlement construction have been changed and the new standards have been published in the Gazette of 16 Jestha 079. Accordingly, extensive revisions have been made in the building’s set-back (towards neighboring land) and the ratio of the maximum plinth area. In the case of Kathmandu Valley, 3.5 percent of commercial and trade buildings, 4 percent of residential buildings, 4.5 percent of mixed residential buildings and 2.5 percent of institutional buildings have been maintained.

Similarly, regarding setback, a point has been inserted that the set back in front of Kathmandu Valley should be 6 meters and in the case of Terai, it should be at least 8 meters. There is a new provision that buildings up to 10 meters high should leave 1.5 meters of set-back, and buildings above 94 meters up to 100 meters high should leave 12 meters of set-back. In this way, it seems that by amending the floor area ratio and the sideback, it will increase by at least 10 percent than before and favor the traders and apartment owners.

When Ram Kumari revised the standards, stakeholders were not consulted. Therefore, the 141st meeting of the Parliamentary Committee held on 3rd Shrawan has made 4 different decisions. Point No. 2 states that the amendment of the year 2078 has narrowed and constricted the provision in the basic standards of settlement development urban planning and building construction prepared after the earthquake of 2072 and this is against the policy of the Nepal government to build a clean, safe and beautiful city and develop it in a balanced and proportionate manner. Due to this, the committee has had serious attention.