Gandaki Province Government Pledges to Clear Encroachments on Phewa Lake Within Three Months

Pokhara. The newly formed government has decided to remove encroachments on Phewa Lake in Pokhara within three months. According to the decision made by the Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, the removal of encroachments on Phewa Lake is mentioned in the 100 agendas for governance reform put forth by the government.

The government's decision states that the process for effective conservation of the watershed area will be initiated within three months with the participation of stakeholders, including the restoration after removing encroachments from the Phewa protected watershed area, landslide management, source conservation, and climate change adaptation activities.

The Supreme Court had issued a verdict directing the governments at all three levels to implement the lake's standards. After the full text of the verdict was made public in Ashoj 2080, the provincial government and Pokhara Metropolitan City have been working through a joint committee.

Technical subcommittees have been formed under this committee. The Metropolitan City has stated that the demarcation of the lake's boundaries has been completed so far. Furthermore, the four-boundary determination and demarcation committee formed by the federal government has also submitted its report to the government, specifying the lake's boundaries.

The responsibility for defining the four boundaries rested with the federal government, while the provincial and local governments are responsible for removing structures within the lake's standards and beautification work. The work of installing pillars along the lake shore has been completed so far. The Metropolitan City has reported that 1,055 digital pillars have been installed along the lake shore, of which 611 pillars are made of concrete.

Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya stated that the study for separating the plots is now in its final stage. He expressed satisfaction with the federal government's decision to remove encroached structures. However, he suggested that compensation decisions should be made concurrently.

Acharya stated that the Metropolitan City is ready to complete the work within the stipulated time if the necessary budget for compensation is made available. The preliminary estimate for distributing compensation is projected to be between 40 to 50 billion rupees. According to him, the technical team is currently studying approximately 4,800 plots of land in the lake area.

Mayor Acharya said, "The technical committee is working meticulously to determine which land is contaminated (illegal) and which land requires compensation." He added, "Most plots are connected from the lake to the hills, which presents some complexity in technically separating them and bringing them under government ownership."

Acharya argues that financial management is the main challenge because land registered in an individual's name cannot be taken without providing compensation, legally and practically. "The federal government's decision is a very significant matter. We have been working on this for the past three years. If the government manages the necessary funds for compensation, we are fully prepared to complete this work within the specified time," he said.

The lake has been studied more than 10 times so far, but the government has shown little interest in the beautification of the lake. All reports have been shelved.

The committee formed under the chairmanship of former VDC Chairman Punya Paudel is the most recent committee. After extensive study, this committee determined the new shape of the lake and identified the contaminated land. The committee recommended canceling the private land ownership documents for approximately 2,500 ropanis of land encroached upon and registered in private names in Phewa Lake and returning it to government ownership.

Prior to this, the committee led by Bishwaprakash Lamichhane, when Dr. Baburam Bhattarai was the Prime Minister, had also recommended canceling 1,692 ropanis of land.

According to the latest committee report, the area of Phewa Lake has been fixed at 5.726 square kilometers, or 11,255 ropanis, 1 anna, and 1 paisa. This area is based on a study conducted by the Government of Nepal and UNDP in 2038 BS.

Phewa Lake is defined as Damside in the east, Morebagar in the west, the dam between Khapaundi–Chankhapur in the north, and Chisapani Rani Ban in the south. The Department of Irrigation first constructed a dam in the lake in B.S. 2018. However, after the dam broke in 2031 BS, individuals registered the land occupied by the lake in their names based on influence. The committee found that land registration occurred based on recommendations from various individuals between 2031 and 2055 BS.

The Supreme Court ordered the demolition of structures violating standards built by encroaching on Phewa Lake in 2075 BS. According to the verdict of Baisakh 16, 2076, the responsibility for demarcating the lake's boundaries was assigned to the federal government, while the responsibility for removing structures was given to the provincial and local governments. The full implementation of this verdict has not yet occurred. The Metropolitan City has stated that all preparations are complete and the matter has reached the stage where budget allocation is required.