Uttarakhand tourism project to Balkrishna firm: Congress seeks probe, BJP, CM’s Office say process above board

Taking note of the Express report, which revealed how Patanjali co-founder and Baba Ramdev’s trusted aide Acharya Balkrishan was a shareholder in all three companies that bid for the project, Arya alleged that the Uttarakhand government is crossing all limits of corruption. He had earlier raised the issue in the budget session about alleged revenue losses from leasing the 142-acre property for a licence fee of Rs 1 crore a year to Rajas Aerosports and Adventures Pvt Ltd, one of the three firms.

He said the report “has exposed the fraud committed to grab the tourism contract worth billions of rupees”.

“Balkrishna’s company won this tender with a fee of only Rs 1 crore per annum. The companies whose names came in second and third place in the tender are also owned by Balkrishna. Even if we leave out the occupied part, the value of this 762 bigha land as per the government rate is around Rs 2,757 crores today. The actual market value of commercial land is generally four times this and up to 10 times at commercial or tourist places,” he claimed on Friday.

He questioned the tourism department officers on why a Rs 23 crore loan was taken from the Asian Development Bank to decorate the land and remove all its shortcomings before it was given for 15 years to Rajas. “The entire process of the tender has been designed to benefit one company,” he alleged.

Listing the timeline of the project, the CMO said in a communication on Friday that all processes were conducted with “full adherence to regulations”. “At George Everest Estate, various tourism services such as Himalayan view programs, bird watching, astro-tourism, cultural events, the George Everest Museum, parking facilities, etc are being provided by M/S Rajas Aero Sports and Adventure Private Limited. Helicopter services are also being operated on designated routes, with full adherence to all regulations,” it said. The CMO further said that while the property has been allotted for operation and maintenance for a period of 15 years, the ownership of the land and assets remains with the Tourism Department.

In response to the Congress, BJP’s Manveer Singh Chauhan said that before 2012, the pathway and George Everest House were in a dilapidated condition, and only a limited number of tourists and daily visitors came to the site. He accused the Congress of spreading a negative vision by questioning the development process. He said the site has now become a source of economic activity in the state through tourism. Chauhan did not respond to queries about all three firms that bid having Balkrishna as a shareholder.