Shram Sanskriti Party Chair Harka Raj Rai Criticizes Government Over Squatter Evictions

Kathmandu. Harka Raj Rai (Sampang), Chairman of the Shram Sanskriti Party, has expressed strong objection to the government's use of bulldozers to demolish squatter settlements across various parts of the country, leaving poor citizens homeless.

In a press statement, Chairman Sampang condemned the government for dismantling settlements in violation of the right to housing guaranteed by Article 37, Clause 1 of the Constitution. He suggested that the government should only proceed after ensuring proper compensation, rehabilitation, and management.

The statement reads, 'Demolishing people's homes, making them homeless, dragging them out, using verbal abuse, and intimidating them with batons, boots, and guns to spread state terror reveals the autocratic character of the government.'

Noting that squatters who have lived there for decades built their homes using their life savings, he argued that these settlements were not established without the tacit consent or permission of the state apparatus at the time. He stated that good governance, economic progress, and development are impossible if citizens are made homeless without proper management.

'The policy of turning squatters into street dwellers is entirely wrong,' the statement mentions. The Shram Sanskriti Party has strongly condemned these anti-human rights activities and drawn the government's attention to the need to respect civil supremacy.