Govt of Himachal Pradesh has ordered to return the land at Rewalsar on which a Tibetan monastery was built in Rewalsar as it alleged that Tibetan failed to construct an idol of Gautam Buddha and instead installing a statue of Padamsambhava.
The land was bought in 2001 by the Tibetan community for constructing an idol of Buddha, but later a statue of Padamsambhava, the 8th century Buddhist master who introduced Tibet to the new religion, was built there, which was in violation of the Himachal Pradesh Land and Tenancy Reforms Act, states the order.
Mandi DC Devesh Kumar, who conducted an inquiry following directions from the Himachal high court where this case is pending, has also found that the owners of the land also had constructed a monastery on the 11,000 square meters of the land, which again was in violation of Section 118 of the Act. As per the DC’s inquiry report, the land was not used according to the purpose for which it was purchased.
The inquiry was initiated by the district administration on receiving a complaint that sanction for the land was granted under Section 118 of tenancy Act to build an idol of Buddha, but instead an idol of Padamsambhava was installed.
Padamsambhava’s multi-storey idol was completed in 2011 and there were plans to invite Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for its inauguration in April 2, 2012, but later the inauguration was cancelled. The DC’s report is to be submitted in the HC, which is to take final decision on the matter.
Violations of Section 118 of HP Land and Tenancy Reforms Act have become a major issue in the state, and the Tibetan community has been in the eye of a storm for violating the Act. Recently a one-man commission of Justice (retd) D P Sood probing benami land transactions had found that Tibetan refugees settled in Himachal Pradesh are expanding their base in villages, towns and cities by entering into land transactions in complete violation of the law.
