In Nepal, the Parliamentary Special Committee monitoring Lumbini development, has directed the government to make public the deal signed between the non-governmental organization Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation, APECF and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO. Speaker Subash Nembang-led 17-member Committee yesterday directed the government to correspond with UNIDO and announce its formal position on the controversial plans to develop Buddha’s birthplace. The ruling follows the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Upendra Yadav and Culture Minister Khagendra Prasai, saying that they have not been informed formally about the deal. Mr. Yadav said that the proposal should have come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but he came to know through the media. The controversial three billion US dollar Memorandum of Understanding is reported to have signed between the two organizations UNIDO and APECF on June 15th in Beijing . Legislators demanded the Committee seek explanations from UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and former Crown Prince Paras Shah, who are listed as the Co-Chair of APECF in its website. They also said, since this is a matter of sovereignty the government must come forward with it’s official position. The Committee was formed in June to monitor the implementation of the resolution endorsed by the Parliament in 2010 that directed the government to accomplish tasks related to the Master Plan for Lumbini's development within three years.