Court and Local Bodies Face Land Encroachment in Morang

Biratnagar. A few days ago, the High Court sent an application to the District Administration Office, Morang. The application demanded that 1 bigha and 8 kattha of land in the name of its office has been encroached upon and should be vacated.

Some may find it strange that the court, which dispenses justice to others, is itself a victim of land encroachment, but the land registered in the name of the High Court, Biratnagar, in plot number 112, measuring 1 bigha, 8 kattha, 10 dhur, located in Biratnagar Metropolitan City Ward No. 4 (formerly Kanchanbari VDC Ward No. 3A), has been encroached upon.

Some individuals have been occupying and cultivating the court's land for years by constructing unauthorized houses and temporary structures, demarcating boundaries with cement poles. After unauthorized permanent and temporary structures were built and occupied on its land, the High Court, Biratnagar, has corresponded with the District Administration Office, Morang, requesting the removal of the encroachment.

The High Court has sought assistance and coordination from the administration to vacate the land as per the decision of the Justice Sector Coordination Committee meeting.

According to the details received and the list of people occupying the land, more than 43 households have encroached upon the government land. Since the land could not be vacated despite repeated attempts, the High Court's Senior Registrar, Santosh Pokharel, stated that a letter has been sent to the administration for assistance during the ongoing nationwide campaign.

Not only the High Court, but the District Coordination Committee (DCC) also wrote to the District Administration Office on Monday requesting the vacation of its encroached land. According to Januka Neupane, District Coordination Officer of DCC Morang, unauthorized individuals have occupied the DCC's land located in two separate locations in Biratnagar.

In plot number 407 of Ward No. 8, 6 kattha of land, and in plot number 33 of Ward No. 10, 16 dhur of land, encroachers have built houses and are occupying the entire land. "There are two small sheds there, but they are using the entire land. No rent or revenue from this is received by the state," said Officer Neupane.

The situation of land encroachment in Morang is evident from the fact that even government offices have to seek help from the administration to protect their land.

The story of land encroachment at Koshi Hospital, Biratnagar, is similar. Various organizations have occupied the hospital's land and constructed structures. They are renting out structures built on the hospital's land and collecting lakhs of rupees monthly. The Ganesh Temple, Nepal Tuberculosis Eradication Association, Nepal Red Cross Society, and Devkota Library have occupied and built permanent structures on the hospital's land. The Tuberculosis Association has occupied 6 kattha, 8 dhur; the Ganesh Temple has occupied 2 kattha; Devkota Library has occupied 2 kattha, 10 dhur; and the Red Cross Society has occupied more than 2 kattha of land. These organizations have built permanent buildings on the hospital's land and rented them out to more than 30 individuals. The Tuberculosis Association alone collects over Rs 2 lakh monthly in rent from structures built on the hospital's land. The Ganesh Temple collects over Rs 1.6 lakh monthly in rent. The Red Cross, after constructing structures, rents them out to commercial banks and various shops, earning approximately Rs 1.5 lakh. Devkota Library has rented out rooms to various shops.

Since 2076 BS, Koshi Hospital has been requesting the return of the land, but these organizations, using their influence, have been threatening the hospital administration. According to Mukesh Budhathoki, a former member of the Hospital Development Committee, efforts to vacate the land in 2080 BS were thwarted. The hospital administration is also currently showing interest in vacating the area.

Not only government bodies, but with the formation of the new government and increased administrative activity, complaints have started pouring into the District Administration Office, Morang. Complaints related to usury, fraud, and land encroachment have surged significantly. The District Administration Office, Morang, has stated that the situation of encroachment on public and government land in all 17 local levels of the district is similar to this.

According to Saroj Koirala, Assistant Chief District Officer of Morang, the administration is adopting a new strategy rather than directly using bulldozers as seen in Kathmandu. "Some individuals are residing on public land, but they have bank transactions of lakhs of rupees. They own land and property in their own names elsewhere. They are occupying public land under the guise of poverty. Such individuals will be identified, and they will not be spared under any circumstances and will be removed immediately," Koirala said.

He stated that the administration will take humanitarian considerations into account for genuine landless squatters. He added that such genuine landless squatters will be managed by providing temporary or alternative arrangements in coordination with the local levels before vacating the land.

"Local levels operate with annual budgets of tens of crores. If they allocate just 1-2 crores, they can purchase land in remote areas and manage these genuine landless squatters. One cannot occupy public land or forest land in prime locations and reside there," Koirala said.

For this purpose, the Morang administration has already corresponded with all 17 local levels, requesting them to submit details of public and government land within their areas. The administration will take action once the complete details are received from the local levels.

In the past, when the administration tried to clear public land or establish good governance, strong pressure used to come from political leaders, parliamentarians, and ministers. Fearing the erosion of their vote bank, leaders themselves would stand in support of the encroachers, forcing the administration to back down.

According to Assistant Chief District Officer Koirala, with the formation of the new government and new political equations, it has become much easier for the administration to work. "Political interference is zero now. Unlike in the past, leaders do not call from morning till evening to stop work. This has made it very easy for us to implement the law, and the morale of the administration is high," Koirala said.

Regarding land encroachment, he stated that the administration will take aggressive steps as soon as the data collection and classification work is completed. "After issuing a strict notice through the media and administration once, half of the encroachers will flee on their own. Those who defy and remain, the squatters and mafias, will be brought under the legal framework and removed by bulldozers," he said.