KATHMANDU: A controversial agreement signed during the tenure of then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in 2019 regarding the Pathibhara Devi Darshan Cable Car Pvt. Ltd. has resurfaced, raising legal and ethical concerns over the transfer of national forest land for private development.
At the time, the Oli government approved the use of 4.79 hectares of national forest in the Pathibhara-Mukkumlung area for 30 years, granting the rights to Yeti World led by Lakpa Sonam Sherpa, the brother of late tourism entrepreneur Ang Tshering Sherpa. However, today, Chandra Dhakal is leading the construction of the cable car instead of Sherpa, raising questions about the legality of the transfer.
The 24-point agreement signed in 2019 contains several provisions that appear to have been violated. Clause 13 explicitly prohibits the transfer of land use rights to a third party, yet despite this, Dhakal and not the original signatory Sherpa is now developing the project.
Clause 10 states that the agreement should be terminated if the project registration is canceled or liquidated. Sherpa no longer owns the company, yet the agreement seemingly remains in effect. Clause 14 mandates that if construction does not commence within two years, the land-use permission automatically expires.
Sherpa did not begin construction within the stipulated period, yet the project was not revoked.
Following the tragic helicopter crash in Pathibhara in 2019, which claimed the lives of then Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari, Ang Tshering Sherpa, and five others, Sonam Sherpa did not proceed with the project. However, the government did not reclaim the forest land, nor was the agreement officially annulled.
The key unanswered questions remain regarding whether Sherpa transferred the rights to use the national forest to Dhakal for free or if there was a financial transaction involved. If Dhakal purchased the rights, the details of the transaction, including how much he paid and what agreements were made between Dhakal and the government after the original 2019 contract, have not been made public.
The Forest Department has yet to disclose official documents related to the project, further fueling suspicions about the transparency of the deal.
While the details of Dhakal’s agreement with the government remain undisclosed, Khabarhub has obtained a copy of the expired 2019 agreement, revealing that it was never legally terminated despite its apparent breach.
With national forest land at stake, the lack of transparency in the Pathibhara cable car project raises serious legal, ethical, and governance concerns.
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