The Land Revenue Office in Rupandehi has put on hold all lands and properties of Tiger Palace Resort, a five-star resort in Bhairahawa after it was found that the resort had exceeded the land ceiling rules as provisioned by the law.

Around 13 bighas and 15 kathha of land belonging to the resort and its parent company Silver Heritage Investment have come under the government’s scanner, said an official at the Land Revenue Office, Bhairahawa.

Kumar Acharya, chief of the Land Revenue Office, Bhairahawa, said that an investigation is underway.

“Transactions related to all the lands under the ownership of Tiger One Pvt Ltd in Rupandehi have been put on hold,” said Acharya. “We have written to the land revenue offices across the country on suspicion of more properties being under Tiger One’s ownership.”

A letter was also sent to the representatives of the Tiger Palace Resort on Thursday to present themselves at the office within a week and furnish clarifications.

The land revenue office had started the investigation after a complaint was filed against the resort owning property that exceeded the ceiling as mentioned in the law.

The Tiger One Resort, under the name of Tulasi Ram GC, Sita Neupane, Nimkala Bhusal, Sumitra Pun, Durga Kumari Neupane, Ganga KC and Min Raj Bhusal seem to have purchased the land on June 5, 2014, according to Acharya.

After being accused of building infrastructure by encroaching public land, the company seems to have sold four bighas of land to Silver Heritage Investment on May 4, 2016, the officials said.

Currently, the Tiger Palace Resort has 9 bighas and 15 kattha of land under its ownership in the Rupandehi district.

“If the company failed to present evidence that the two companies are different, they will lose the land,” said Acharya.

According to the Lands Act, 2021, the upper ceiling of land allowed to be owned by any person or his/her family should not exceed 10 bighas in the Tarai region, 25 ropanis in Kathmandu valley and 70 ropanis in all hills region, except Kathmandu Valley.

There is a provision that the government can confiscate property that exceeds the earmarked ceiling.

The resort, which came into operation at Kotihawa in Tilottama Municipality-17, Rupandehi in 2018 under the name of Hong Kong-based multinational company Tiger One Pvt. Ltd, has been mired in the land-related controversy ever since its establishment.

Thaneshwar Ghimire, chairman of a water user group—Lumbini Nalkup Water User Group had filed a case at the district court against the resort operators, accusing them of building the infrastructure by encroaching on the public irrigation canal.

Ghimire had demanded that 1 bigha and 3 kattha of the land be brought back for public usage.

Antima Thapa, the manager of the resort, told the Post that she was unaware of the land-related issues. More than Rs5 billion has been invested in the resort. The Prime Bank alone has invested more than Rs2 billion in the property.