Progress Report on Phewa Lake Conservation and Supreme Court Mandate Implementation to be Submitted to PM

Pokhara. A progress report detailing the long-term conservation of Phewa Lake, a major tourist destination in Pokhara, and the implementation of the Supreme Court's mandate is set to be submitted to the Prime Minister today.

Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya stated that the report will be submitted to Prime Minister Balendra (Balen) Shah through Tourism Minister Khadakraj Paudel (Ganesh). The report, which covers the progress made in clearing the standards for Phewa Lake—a priority under the government's 100-day reform plan—is being submitted by the Pokhara Metropolitan City to the federal government.

A facilitation committee led by Gandaki Chief Minister Surendraraj Pandey was formed to facilitate the implementation of these standards. The committee, in its meeting on Tuesday, decided to lift the freeze on land parcels located outside the 65-meter boundary.

These lands had been frozen for a long time due to their proximity to the lake. Mayor Acharya mentioned that by the end of Chaitra, the Survey and Land Revenue offices will be directed to identify the status of lands within the 65-meter boundary and lift the freeze on those outside it.

The committee has accelerated the identification of land within the 65-meter zone by forming various sub-committees. Mayor Acharya noted that the task of verifying the land parcels within the 65-meter limit is nearing completion.

‘We have already installed poles on the lake's boundary and applied digital markings,’ he said. ‘Additionally, we have completed digital marking for the 65-meter zone and are now proceeding with physical marking. The task of defining the 65-meter area will be completed by the end of Chaitra.’

Following this, Acharya explained that they will prepare a preliminary estimate for compensation and submit a further report to the federal government for budgeting. He emphasized that lifting the land freeze is mandatory. ‘Land outside the 65-meter zone has been frozen for years, hindering citizens' property rights, inheritance, and sales,’ he added. ‘Therefore, it has been decided to lift the freeze immediately after identifying the land outside the 65-meter limit.’

Prime Minister Balen Shah has taken a special interest in clearing the Phewa Lake standards and held a telephone conversation with Pokhara Mayor Acharya. Residents of Pokhara are optimistic that work will be done this time as the federal government has included the implementation of Phewa Lake standards in its 100-day plan.

The Supreme Court has declared registrations after the year 2031 as ‘tainted’ and ordered their cancellation. However, survey and land revenue officials in Pokhara argue that the new survey was conducted in 2032, meaning most land ownership certificates (Lalpurja) date from after that time. This has created confusion regarding which lands should be compensated and which should not.

‘The new survey was conducted in 032. The court has declared surveys after 31 as illegal,’ said Chief Minister Pandey. ‘Our plan is to complete the first phase of identifying land within the 65-meter limit before discussing compensation and tainted land in the second phase.’

He warned that implementing these standards risks harming ordinary citizens who bought land years ago and are now at the end of the process.

‘People who bought land near the lake with their life savings could end up homeless. This is a very alarming issue,’ Pandey said. ‘The government must address these human sensitivities.’

Prime Minister Balen Shah has taken a special interest in clearing the Phewa Lake standards and held a telephone conversation with Pokhara Mayor Acharya. Residents of Pokhara are optimistic that work will be done this time as the federal government has included the implementation of Phewa Lake standards in its 100-day plan.

According to the full text of the verdict, the area up to 65 meters from the highest water point of the rainy season has been declared an intermediate green zone. All houses, hotels, restaurants, and resorts within this area were ordered to be removed within 6 months.

Chief Minister Pandey claims that once the land for the standards is determined, the removal of structures will begin with government-owned ones. ‘We have taken the Supreme Court's verdict seriously. The provincial government is facilitating its long-term conservation,’ he said. ‘In the process of implementing the standards, we will start with government structures first.’

He stated that the process for other structures will proceed only after clearing offices and buildings located on public land.

The Pokhara Metropolitan City had counted structures built within 30, 35, and 65 meters. This included everything from star hotels to simple structures. The Metropolitan City stated that a re-study is required because additional structures have been built since the study.

What is in the Supreme Court's mandate?

The full text of the Supreme Court's verdict was published in Ashoj 2080. According to the full text, the area up to 65 meters from the highest water point of the rainy season has been declared an intermediate green zone. All houses, hotels, restaurants, and resorts within this area were ordered to be removed within 6 months. Although the Metropolitan City had previously decided to reduce the standard to 30 meters, the court rejected it and ordered the 65-meter standard to be maintained.

Order 1: For the long-term conservation and promotion of Phewa Lake, even if the land of Phewa Lake has been registered in the name of any person or organization, cancel such registration and maintain it in the name of Phewa Lake. Remove all physical structures, including all vacant private, government, and non-governmental land up to 65 meters from the high flood point boundary of Phewa Lake, as well as all businesses, offices, houses, hotels, restaurants, and resorts in that area. Do not allow any business in that area; if permission has been granted, cancel it.

Order 2: Maintain and ensure greenery in the entire area up to 65 meters from the high flood or highest water point boundary of Phewa Lake. Since most parts of the structures in the name of Waterfront Resort were found to be within 65 meters of the high flood point of Phewa Lake, and the hotel and building construction permits were not obtained according to the law, and the resort structures were built on public land, remove all such unauthorized structures for the long-term cleanliness and beauty of Phewa Lake.

Order 3: All houses, buildings, businesses, hotels, restaurants, resorts, etc., and all other types of private, government, or public physical structures within 65 meters from the high flood edge of Phewa Lake during the rainy season must be compulsorily removed and cleared within 6 months from the date of receipt of this order. Declare the 65-meter intermediate zone as a fully green zone and act accordingly. As Phewa Lake is a declared protected watershed area, act according to the Soil and Watershed Conservation Act 2039 for the protection of the lake's source and its watershed area.

Order 4: It should be considered that there is no dispute regarding compensation for land existing from 2018 to 031 and that it was settled at that time. The land of the lake and its banks are government land of the Government of Nepal, and according to Section 24 (2) of the Land Revenue Act 2034, it should be maintained in the name of the Government of Nepal to be kept in the name of Phewa Lake.

Following this order, the facilitation committee led by Chief Minister Pandey includes officials from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, administration, and the Survey Department.