Government Launches Nationwide Campaign to Remove Illegal Structures on Public Land

Kathmandu. A campaign has been launched across the country, including the Kathmandu Valley, to remove structures illegally built on government and public land. In the first phase, the government began removing encroached huts and other structures in various high-risk areas of the Kathmandu Valley starting Saturday.

On Saturday, illegal structures along the riverbanks in Thapathali, Sinamangal-Gairigaun, and Shantinagar in Kathmandu were removed. Similarly, today, with the support of security agencies including the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force, Nepal, a government team is removing encroached structures along the banks of the Manohara River.

Januka Dhakal, Development Commissioner of the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, stated that in the initial phase, settlements in high-risk areas will be removed, and in the second phase, landless individuals will be identified and provided with proper housing arrangements. The Authority stated that preliminary details of citizens left homeless during the clearing of encroached land are being collected, and housing arrangements are being made.

The process of clearing high-risk settlements at Gothatar Buddhachowk in Kageshwori Manohara Municipality-8 and Manohara Tole in Ward No. 9 of Kathmandu has begun. Security personnel are assisting citizens in removing and transporting their belongings before the physical structures in the settlements are demolished.

The Authority reported that 214 families have come into contact with the government so far during the process of clearing the encroached settlements. For those who have come into contact, arrangements for accommodation and food in various hotels have been made for the time being.

Under this campaign, illegal structures are being rapidly removed in various parts of the country, including Rupandehi, Nuwakot, and Parsa, in addition to the Kathmandu Valley. Huts and sheds built by encroaching on government land in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City-4, Rupandehi, were removed today. The Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City had issued a notice on Saturday requesting that structures built on government land be removed voluntarily.

Today, the 'Galchhi-Rasuwagadhi Road Project Office' removed a dozen government and 86 private structures built by occupying government land in various locations of Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot.

Similarly, the Narayani Irrigation and Management Office today removed houses, huts, and other structures built by encroaching on the banks of the Gandak Canal in Parsa. Sunil Kumar Karna, Chief of the Administration and Management Division of Birgunj Metropolitan City, informed that the work of removing illegally constructed structures was carried out in coordination with security agencies, including the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force.

Human Rights Alliance urges meaningful dialogue

The Human Rights Alliance has stated that removing squatters and landless people without alternative arrangements is not appropriate from a humanitarian and human rights perspective. A statement issued by the organization's president, Bidur Subedi, mentions that the fear, insecurity, and uncertainty seen in the families removed from the settlements will weaken the trust between the state and the citizens.

The Alliance has urged the government to initiate an open, trusting, and meaningful dialogue with the affected communities and not to carry out forced displacement.