Attorney-at-law Manoj Narayan?as Lands and Surveys refuses to accept lease paymentAttorneys at law Jainarayan Singh and Manoj Narayan have moved to the High Court seeking several rulings that would enable their client businessman Bernard Yhun to continue the operations of his business, the Celina?s Atlantic Resort.The move to the court follows action on the part of the Lands and Surveys Commission to repossess land leased to Yhun for the establishment of a business entity at tract ?BB?, a portion of state land totaling 1.54 acres, on the north side of the Kitty Seawall.The attorneys are seeking on behalf of their client an Order directed to the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, quashing a decision of the said Commissioner and Commission, which was contained in a letter, dated the 20th day of December, 2010, cancelling State Land Lease No. A 15377, issued to the Applicant, Mr. Bernard Yhun.They are also seeking an order, restraining and prohibiting the said Commissioner and Commission, their servants and/or agents from doing anything or act or from taking any steps whatsoever to remove the Yhun buildings and erections from the land.Additionally, the attorneys want the court to compel the Commissioner and Commission to accept and receive from Yhun, the sum of $3,375,000, being arrears of rent due, owing and payable to the State in respect of the said portion of land.The orders are being sought on the grounds that the decisions taken by the commissioner and commission are arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, whimsical, influenced by extraneous and irrelevant considerations, ultra vires, in breach of and contrary to the rules of natural justice, in breach of and contrary to the Applicant?s legitimate expectation, in breach of and contrary to the State Lands Act, Chapter 62:01, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no effect.According to court documents filed on behalf of the businessman, the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, had cancelled State Land Lease, in respect of the portion of land on which the Celina?s Atlantic Resort is located.The Commissioner had requested Yhun to remove all buildings and erections on the said land and deliver possession thereof to the Commissioner or his duly authorized agent within three months of the receipt of the request.But according to the businessman, by a Lease of State Lands For Tourism Purposes (Establishment of a Seaview Resort), issued under Section 3 (b) of the State Lands Act,[url=http://www.footlockershop.us@#$%&/Nike-roshe-one-hyp-qs/]http://www.footlockershop.us@#$%&/Nike-roshe-one-hyp-qs/[/url], Chapter 62:01, No. A 15377, and dated the 22nd August, 2003, His Excellency Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, leased unto him a portion of State Land on the Northern side of the Kitty Seawall.The said Lease is for a term of 50 years, commencing from the 1st July, 2003, and rent is payable to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission.Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) was to be paid for the first two years; $1M for the second two years; $1.5M for the third two years; and subject to revision every two years thereafter.Following the granting of the lease, Yhun applied for and obtained the requisite permission and approval from the Central Housing and Planning Authority, the Guyana Sea Defence Board, the Transport and Harbours Department and the Mayor and City Councillors of the City of Georgetown in respect of the building and construction of a tourist resort on the seaward side of the seawall to be called ?Celina Atlantic Resort?.It was noted that he also duly applied for and obtained the requisite permits and approvals from the Environmental Protection Agency in respect of the aforesaid building and construction.Acting and relying upon the said Lease, Yhun cleaned and cleared the land and filled it with in excess of 900 truckloads of mud, sand and stone. He also built and erected barriers to prevent flooding and erosion of the soil as well as install suitable drainage facilities for the said Land.Yhun went on to construct a wooden, two storeyed building, containing an area of 6,868 square feet, complete with a fully functional commercial kitchen and bar.The Celina Atlantic Resort , it was noted, was opened to the public sometime in December 2003, and to date, continues to serve the public and tourists to the country as the first and only resort of its kind.Over the years, Yhun continued to expend huge sums of money into the expansion and improvement of the infrastructure of the resort as well as to expand the range of tourist attractions, including the addition of an outdoor aquarium with exotic Guyanese fish and turtles.This and other innovations amounted to a total expenditure over the years of in excess of $100M.?In 2006 the Sea Defence Board, Ministry of Public Works and Communications,[url=http://www.footlockershop.us@#$%&/Nike-roshe-one-flyknit/]http://www.footlockershop.us@#$%&/Nike-roshe-one-flyknit/[/url], granted a no-objection for me to pave a stretch of the sea defence embankment outside the Celina Atlantic Resort to be used as parking facilities.But then things started to go wrong, for shortly thereafter, the Guyana Police Force issued a prohibition on vehicular parking in front of and in close proximity to the resort and its officers commenced a campaign of removing and towing away vehicles which were so parked.?Yhun said that as a consequence of this campaign, it became very difficult for customers to park their vehicles in close proximity to the resort and this has, concomitantly, caused the resort to lose many of its customers and has placed it in severe economic problems.This resulted in him defaulting on paying the rent owed to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission in respect of the said Lease.Sometime in the month of March, 2009, Yhun received a notice from the Lands and Surveys Commission, calling on him to pay the sum of $7M as rent for the said Lease for the period until 31st December, 2009.After receiving the notice, he immediately visited the Lands and Surveys Commission to query the amount owed, which he claimed was overstated.There he was informed by an officer that his file could not be located and that his queries would be considered as soon as the file was located.Yhun claimed that he did not receive any response to his earlier queries until he later received a General Rent Demand Notice late in 2009 calling upon him to pay the sum of $3,375,000 within two weeks.Yhun stated that he then met with Mr. Doorga Persaud, the Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, in order to discuss a payment plan or arrangement to enable him to liquidate his indebtedness.As a result he sent $200,000 as an initial payment, indicating that he would not be able to pay the entire amount due in a single lump sum and promised an interim monthly payment of $100,000 until he fully liquidated his indebtedness.Yhun said he never received a response to his proposal but another demand notice was sent to him.?As a result of these Notices, sometime in January, 2010, I duly visited the office of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to pay a further part of the sum owed as rent and to enter into a payment arrangement in order to liquidate the remaining balance, however, I was informed by an officer at the office of the said Commission that my file cannot be located and that no payment can be accepted by the Commission until my file can be located.At this point in time, I arranged a meeting with the then Assistant Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission at which meeting I raised the issue concerning the misplacement of my file and the refusal of the officers of the Commission to accept a part payment of the arrears of rent in the absence of my file.But sometime in the month of January, 2010, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission instituted High Court Action against me in which they sought $3,[url=http://www.footlockershop.us@#$%&/Nike-roshe-one-flight-weight/]http://www.footlockershop.us@#$%&/Nike-roshe-one-flight-weight/[/url],375,000 as arrears of rental and an Order cancelling the said Lease.Yhun stated that he accepted owing the sum claimed, however, he requested that the matter be set down for the parties to discuss a settlement, a request that was granted by the Honourable Judge.On November 3rd, 2010, before Justice Rishi Persaud,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysnear.us@#$%&/]cheap nfl jerseys china[/url], whilst settlement negotiations were still pending and before the parties could arrive at any settlement of the matter, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission wholly withdrew and discontinued the Court proceedings, opting for an out of court settlement.?While awaiting a response from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, I managed to raise sufficient finance to liquidate my entire indebtedness to the Commission, and he later visited the Commission in December 2010, to pay off my entire indebtedness.However, quite strangely, the officers at the Commission refused to accept the money from me.When I inquired as to the reason for their refusal to accept revenue that is owing to the State, I was informed that they have been instructed by the Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to refuse any payment from me.As a result, I became very suspicious and apprehensive and as a result, sometime on or about the 15th December, 2010, I attended a meeting with Mr. Roger F. Luncheon,[url=http://www.nhl2017.us@#$%&/Detroit-Red-Wings-Danny-Dekeyser-Jersey/]Danny DeKeyser Red Wings Jersey[/url], Secretary to the Cabinet/Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Office of the President, where I raised the issue of the refusal of the officers of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to accept the arrears of rent owing to the State.?Luncheon subsequently wrote to Mr. Doorga Persaud, Chief Executive Officer, Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, duly informing him that Yhun was no longer interested in the ongoing negotiations in respect of the arrears of rent and that he was willing to make full and complete payment for all outstanding lease fees with immediate effect and that the Office of the President ?welcomes this development in the matter?.But despite Luncheon?s letter,[url=http://www.nhl2017.us@#$%&/Detroit-Red-Wings-Chris-Chelios-Jersey/]Chris Chelios Red Wings Jersey[/url], the Commissioner, by letter dated the 20th December 2010, purported to cancel the said Lease.Yhun stated: ?By a subsequent letter sent to me dated the 22nd December, 2010, the said Commissioner gave me notice that I was unlawfully occupying the said Land and he further required me to remove all buildings and erections on the said Land and deliver possession of the said Land to him or his duly authorized agent within three months of the date of the letter.?In another letter dated the 29th December, 2010, the Commissioner informed Yhun that the Commission is willing to consider his offer to clear a portion of the arrears of rent, but that his offer will not reverse the cancellation and repossession of the said Land leased to him.Yhun said that at no point in time did the Commissioner or any of his servants and/or agents give him a hearing so as to enable him to provide any reason or show any cause why the Lease should not be cancelled and the Land repossessed.?In fact, at all material times, the said Commissioner, though his servants and/or agents, and I were negotiating a payment arrangement to enable me to liquidate my indebtedness to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission?In fact, it was only after the decision was made by the said Commissioner cancelling the Lease that I shockingly discovered that a Notice captioned, ?Cancellation and Repossession of State Land Lease No. A15377?, signed by E. Monize, Manager, Land Admin. Division for Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, was published in the Official Gazette on Saturday, 20th November, 27th November, and the 4th December, 2010.???at all material times, I was always willing to repay my indebtedness to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission in monthly installment payments until I could have afforded to pay off the entire amount, however, my willingness was often frustrated by the numerous occasions that my file could not be located and also by the reluctance of the Commission to enter into a monthly payment arrangement. It is also fundamental and crucial to bear in mind that the said cancellation of my Lease was done after the officers at the Commission refused to accept the arrears of rent which I owed, saying that they have received instructions from above, and even after the Commissioner would have received the aforesaid letter from Mr. Roger Luncheon, Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the President,? the businessman claimed in his affidavit to support his court action.