Home Minister Sudhan Gurung has said he was misled in the ongoing Phewa Lake land controversy in Pokhara and plans to pursue legal action.
The issue came into focus after Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya revealed that around 20 ropani of land linked to Gurung falls within the restricted zone along the Phewa Lake shoreline. The area lies within a 65-meter boundary where construction and land use are regulated to protect the lake.
Amid public criticism, Gurung clarified through his secretariat that he had not purchased the land but had taken it on lease for a business venture. He said the landowners did not disclose that the property fell within the restricted boundary and was part of an encroached area.
According to Gurung, he became aware of the issue only after leasing the land and immediately halted all construction and investment activities. The project, reportedly initiated 8–10 years ago, involved a group of young entrepreneurs planning to promote adventure tourism in Pokhara.
He now plans to seek legal remedy, claiming he was deceived during the leasing process. His office maintains that the landowners had assured them the property was outside the restricted zone and legally secure—something that later proved incorrect after verification with local authorities.
Meanwhile, Mayor Acharya has stated that the land not only falls within the protected boundary but may also have been improperly registered. Under existing legal provisions and a Supreme Court directive, such registrations can be annulled without compensation.
The case has once again drawn attention to long-standing issues of land encroachment and irregular registration around Phewa Lake, one of Nepal’s most sensitive ecological and tourism areas.