Shuklaphanta Reserve Evictees' Plight: Promises Unkept as Elections Approach Again

Kanchanpur. The issue of the Shuklaphanta Reserve evictees, which becomes an election agenda for political parties in every election, is once again on the campaign manifestos of candidates in this election. It has been two decades since the agenda for the resettlement of reserve evictees has been part of local and federal elections.

The evictees, displaced during the expansion of the then Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (now Shuklaphanta National Park) in 2058 BS, are still living in camps in various locations in Kanchanpur. The Shuklaphanta area, initially 150 square kilometers, was expanded to 305 square kilometers. During this expansion, 2,473 families were displaced and are now forced to live a miserable life near the forest.

“Leaders still come and say, 'We will resettle you, give us your votes,'” said Bir Singh Dhami, a reserve evictee from the Dhakka camp. “We have received many assurances, they say it will happen during the election, but after that, no one listens to us.” He has voted four times previously based on assurances of resettlement.

“We don't have much hope that we will be resettled, but this time too, candidates from all parties have committed to resettlement,” Dhami said. “The state has not taken our problem seriously.” Despite the government forming numerous commissions for the reserve evictees, the victims' problems remain unresolved, leading them to lament that political parties only use them as a vote bank.

“They form a commission in the name of reserve evictees and recruit cadres, that's all it amounts to,” said victim Ramlal Dagauara. “Even after 33 commissions were formed, our problem hasn't been solved.” He stated that their demand is for the government to arrange housing in a safe location. “The state has made us homeless; the state must manage us,” Dagauara said. “We have been cheated repeatedly by the government and political parties.”

Reserve evictees state that although the government repeatedly formed commissions to manage them, these commissions have only resulted in fluctuating numbers rather than solving the problem. After being displaced, the evictees spent five years on the streets and have been living by encroaching on vacant land near the forest since 2064 BS.

“We have always been used only for votes,” said local Naresh Rana. “Because the government hasn't resettled us, we are living in darkness.” He added that because the evictees are living on encroached vacant land near the forest, they are deprived of basic services provided by the state.

Ramdas Chaudhary says he has been living a miserable life for 24 years in the hope of resettlement for the reserve evictees. “Wild elephants come and destroy houses, and the National Park doesn't allow us to rebuild huts,” Chaudhary said. “There is no electricity or drinking water here.” He noted that despite the government spending crores of rupees from the state treasury to solve the evictees' problems, the situation has not improved.

To manage those displaced during the reserve expansion, the government formed a commission under the chairmanship of Amritman Shrestha in 2037 BS. That commission provided 444 bighas of land as compensation to 62 families who held land ownership documents (Lalpurja). Later commissions formed under Sarvagyaraj Pandit in 2038 BS and Yugnath Sharma in 2042 BS provided 2,230 bighas of land compensation to 2,075 families. Commissions formed after 2044 BS do not seem to have done anything other than collecting and adjusting the count of reserve evictees living on public land. In 2071 BS, the government formed a commission under the chairmanship of former Appellate Court Judge Thakur Prasad Sharma.

That commission recommended to the government the management of 1,480 families in 'A' category, 256 in 'B', and 244 in 'C' among those certified by previous commissions, but the management of the evictees did not materialize. Following that, a commission formed under the chairmanship of then Regional Forest Director Sudhir Koirala did no work. After that commission, one was formed under the chairmanship of Surendra Bam. That commission suggested to the government that among the 1,480 families, the actual evictees should be given up to 10 katthas of land or NPR 6 million in cash after investigation.

Shortly after submitting the suggestion, the government formed the 32nd commission under Dal Bahadur Bohara's leadership in 2078 BS. That commission also failed to resolve the reserve evictees' problem. In 2081 BS, the government formed the 33rd commission under the chairmanship of former High Court Judge Jayananda Paneru. That commission recommended to the government the management of 2,027 families by collecting the list of remaining victims based on the recommendation of the Thakur Prasad Sharma Commission. The evictees are currently residing in 17 camps across various locations in the district.