WHEN THE Uttarakhand government’s tourism board floated a tender in December 2022 to promote adventure tourism in the scenic George Everest Estate near Mussoorie, three companies bid for the showpiece project.The government pledged to provide to the successful bidder 142 acres, parking, pathways, a helipad, five wooden huts, a café, two museums and an observatory, all developed by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, for an annual concession fee of just Rs 1 crore.An investigation by The Indian Express reveals that, violating tender norms, all three companies that bid for the contract, including the one that was awarded the tender, have the same shareholder: Acharya Balkrishna, co-founder and managing director of the Rs 6,199-crore consumer goods company Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and Baba Ramdev’s longstanding trusted aide.Also Read | An Express Investigation: Rs 1 crore as fee to govt, firm turnover jumps 8-fold in a yrCompany records show that of the three bidders, Balkrishna holds more than 99% stake in two: Prakriti Organics India Pvt Ltd and Bharuwa Agri Science Pvt Ltd.In the third company, Rajas Aerosports and Adventures Pvt Ltd, he started with 25.01% stake at the bidding stage, and cobbled together a majority shareholding of 69.43% months after it was awarded the tender (see box).Rajas was issued a letter of award on July 21, 2023.In fact, Prakriti Organics and Bharuwa Agri Science, the two firms that bid along with Rajas Aerosports, acquired 17.43% in it in October 2023. Separately, four companies – Bharuwa Agro Solution, Bharuwa Solutions, Fit India Organic and Patanjali Revolution – all owned by Balkrishna, together acquired 33.25% in Rajas Aerosports and Adventures.The award flies in the face of a categorical undertaking signed by the bidders, which clearly says: “We hereby certify and confirm that in the preparation and submission of this Bid, we have not acted in concert or in collusion with any other Bidder or other person/s and also not done any act, deed or thing which is or could be regarded as anti-competitive…”Story continues below this ad The George Everest Estate near MussoorieThe tender instructions on disqualification and termination further say that if the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB), in its judgment, finds that the operator “has engaged in corrupt or fraudulent practices in competing for or in executing the contract”, the contract could be terminated.Asked by The Indian Express if price discovery can be fair if all three companies have one common shareholder, Amit Lohani, Deputy Director of the adventure tourism wing of the Tourism Department, said the annual rent, as per their assessment, was Rs 1 crore. “The tender was open, and anyone could participate. This is not an unusual matter that some have shareholding in other companies.”Lohani said the government has received over Rs 5 crore from the area for the services provided as GST over the last two years, apart from the lease amount. “We didn’t want to build 500 homestays in the area, but we wanted a warden who looks over the area, and Rajas does that,” he said.When contacted, Col Ashvini Pundir, who was the Additional CEO (Adventure Sports), UTDB, when the tender was floated, said: “It is not collusion because these companies are independent entities. We do not go for a witch hunt of companies and their backgrounds. You just give the highest bidder the tender, and the bottom line is the company is valid and legal.”Story continues below this adAsked about the collusion, a Rajas Aerosports spokesperson said the company raised funding from a “diverse set of investors over the years (but) all strategic, operational, and management decisions of the company are solely taken by its founders and managing director”.“It is factually incorrect and misleading to equate passive shareholding by an investor with collusion,” the spokesperson said.The project and push for RajasGeorge Everest Estate is a park estate established by Sir George Everest in 1832. Before handing the premise to Rajas Aerosports, the state tourism department had spruced up the area between 2019 and 2022 under a special program, borrowing Rs 23.5 crore from the Asian Development Bank.The George Everest Estate Park project is part of the Himalayan Darshan programme on gyrocopters (a smaller two-seater helicopter). The tender allowed activities such as paragliding, bungee jumping, rock climbing, helicopter operations, camping, rappelling and hot air ballooning on 142 acres of land.Story continues below this adIn fact, Col Pundir, as Additional CEO (Adventure Sports), UTDB, had in July 2022 written to then CEO and Tourism Department Secretary Sachin Kurve that the George Everest Estate Park project be executed by Rajas Aerosports on a pilot basis for a year to assess feasibility.However, months later, in December 2022, the department sought to procure services through a 15-year tender, extendable up to another 15 years.Kurve and Pundir had supervised the project since 2022. Pundir, who was on deputation to UTDB from the Indian Army, has retired, and the post of Additional CEO (Adventure Sports) remains vacant.A request for proposal (RFP) was floated, and bidding took place on February 1, 2023. While the bid by Rajas Aerosports promised an annual concession fee of Rs 1 crore (excluding GST), Bharuwa Agri Science bid Rs 65 lakh and Prakriti Organics India Rs 51 lakh. The annual fee, meant to be paid by the company to the tourism department, was supposed to be enhanced by 3 per cent every year.Story continues below this adRecords also show that the Uttarakhand government has pushed to involve Rajas in more key projects. In April this year, Kurve, who was tourism as well as Civil Aviation secretary at the time, wrote to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) seeking approval for operating four air safari projects by Rajas.In an April 2, 2025, communication to the DGCA regarding permission for using gyrocopters for the promotion of tourism in the state, Kurve wrote, “It is recommended that the application of M/s Rajas Aero Sports and Adventures Pvt Ltd for launching the gyrocopters for commercial joy rides (at the four places) be considered favourably.”When contacted, the current Secretary of the Tourism Department, Dhiraj Garbyal, said the proposal sent by Kurve was for a trial basis, and a tender for the gyrocopter rides has been floated again. Kurve no longer holds the tourism charge in Uttarakhand after the Kedarnath helicopter crash in June, but continues to be the Civil Aviation Secretary for two years now. Despite several calls and messages, he was not available for comment.The tender contendersRajas Aerosports was incorporated in 2013. According to the financial statements filed by the company with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the main objective of Rajas Aerosports is to undertake commercial activities in the adventure sports and related fields, including skydiving, water sports, and aero sports. The current directors of Rajas Aerosports are Ghaziabad-based Manish Saini and Haridwar-based Som Suvedi. Saini holds 20.68% stake in the company, and Suvedi 5.58%. They were unavailable for comment.Story continues below this adBalkrishna was not a shareholder of the company when it was incorporated in 2013. The company was started by the brothers Mayank Saini and Manish Saini, and Balkrishna became a shareholder in July 2018.The documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (ROC), Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), show that as on March 31, 2023, there were four shareholders in the company — Balkrishna, the Saini brothers and Som Suvedi. Balkrishna had 25.01% then, the Saini brothers 49.99%, and Suvedi 25%.Around two and a half months after the letter of award was issued to Rajas for the George Everest project, more companies linked with Balkrishna became shareholders of the firm. According to the documents filed with the ROC regarding Single Beneficial Owners, out of the six shareholding companies in Rajas Aerosports, the date of entry of five companies in the register under Section 88 is October 9, 2023.These are Prakriti Organics India, Patanjali Revolution, Bharuwa Agro Solution, Bharuwa Agri Science and Fit India Organic. Bharuwa Solutions Pvt Ltd was entered in the company’s register on January 17, 2024. Under section 88 of the Companies Act, every company has to maintain a register showing members and shares held by them.Story continues below this adBalkrishna is the majority shareholder in all six companies – he holds a 99.85% stake in Bharuwa Agri Science Private, 99.98% in Prakriti Organics India, 99.99% in Bharuwa Solutions, 99.98% in Fit India Organics, 99.94% in Patanjali Revolution, and 99.99% (indirectly) in Bharuwa Agro Solutions.What more for Rajas AerosportsIn addition to the Everest project, around three months ago, the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) also awarded Rajas Aerosports a project under the Uttarakhand State Air Connectivity Scheme, a subsidised programme, on a pilot basis for six months. Under this, a shuttle service from Jolly Grant helipad to Mussoorie’s George Everest Estate was facilitated.The company was exempt from landing and parking charges for using the government helipad, for which other private operators are charged, and a Rs 5,000 per-seat one-way sortie is also funded by the government. “This is to foster tourism and air connectivity. The price per seat is capped at Rs 2,500. However, we have not levied any additional costs or royalty for operating inside the estate as it is a private enterprise,” said the UCADA finance officer Deepak Bhatt.Currently, there are six routes in Uttarakhand under the scheme. Other operators are Thumby Aviation with four routes and Alliance Air with one route.Story continues below this adGagan Kumar, private secretary to Balkrishna, did not respond to queries from The Indian Express despite multiple calls and messages. He said Balkrishna was unavailable for a comment.A Patanjali spokesperson confirmed the company was directly involved in Rajas Aerosports.A spokesperson of Rajas Aerosports said, “A number of Indian companies today share institutional or individual investors, but that does not imply operational linkages or bid-rigging. No company has any role or influence in the functioning of Rajas Aerosports & Adventures Pvt Ltd.”On the tendering process, the spokesperson said the George Everest Estate project was awarded through a “transparent competitive bidding process”. “Any suggestions of favouritism are unfounded. All allotments or partnerships with government departments have been strictly in line with applicable procedures and approvals,” the spokesperson said.With regards to the relationship with Patanjali, the spokesperson said that Rajas Aerosports has never served as a subsidiary or affiliate of Patanjali. “Investment by any individual or entity is a matter of record with the Registrar of Companies and does not translate into management control,” he said.