Government Orders Eviction of Encroachments in Kailali and Kanchanpur

Dhangadhi. The Government of Nepal, Ministry of Home Affairs has given a strict directive to remove encroachments from public land, forest areas, and areas under government possession across the country. Accordingly, the first phase of removing encroachments has begun in Kailali and Kanchanpur, two districts in the Terai region of Sudurpashchim Province.

The administration is now actively working to resolve this problem, which has been entangled for decades due to political protection, land occupied in the name of squatters, and disorganized settlements.

In Sudurpashchim, public land, forests, rivers, and ponds are particularly under encroachment. The District Administration Offices of Kailali and Kanchanpur have increased coordination with local levels to implement the directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

According to Madan Koirala, Chief District Officer of Kanchanpur, all government offices and local levels have been notified to send details of encroached land immediately after receiving the directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

“We have received a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Accordingly, we have notified all government offices and local levels across the district to send details of encroached land as soon as possible,” Koirala said.

According to him, details of how much and where encroachments have occurred in Kanchanpur are currently being collected. “Once the details are received, we will move forward with an action plan. It will distinguish between genuine squatters and encroachers,” he said.

Encroachment of forest areas in Kanchanpur is alarming. According to the data of the Division Forest Office Kanchanpur, out of the district's 77,630 hectares of forest, 3,195 hectares are completely under encroachment. More than 25,000 landless and squatters are living here.

Hiralal Regmi, Chief District Officer of Kailali, stated that the work of removing encroachments should be viewed in conjunction with disaster management and development projects. He informed that a special action plan is being implemented in coordination with local levels.

Kailali’s situation appears even more dire compared to Kanchanpur. According to applications received by the District Administration Office, there are more than 130,000 landless and squatters in Kailali alone. More than 21,000 hectares of forest land have already been encroached upon.

“We have prioritized areas that are at risk from a disaster perspective, obstruct development work, or involve the encroachment of land belonging to monasteries or schools,” he said. Encroachments are more visible in the Godavari area's forest, roadside shacks in Tikapur, and some areas of Chure Rural Municipality in Kailali.

“Removing encroachments is challenging, but not impossible. It is natural for people to be angry when they have to leave the structures they have built, but it can be managed. We are also planning for the proper management of genuine squatters after identifying them,” he said.

Kailali’s situation appears even more dire compared to Kanchanpur. According to applications received by the District Administration Office, there are more than 130,000 landless and squatters in Kailali alone. More than 21,000 hectares of forest land have already been encroached upon.

Specifically, 10,000 hectares of forest land in the Basanta Corridor, considered an important wildlife corridor, has now turned into dense settlements. All 13 local levels in Kailali have settlements of squatters who have been occupying government land for decades.

The problem of squatters, landless, and park victims in Sudurpashchim has become like a festering wound for decades. Those displaced by natural disasters such as floods, landslides, inundation, erosion, and earthquakes, as well as the Badi community, Dalits, and former Kamaiyas who have been living as squatters for generations, are still waiting for safe shelter.

Many of them are living in government forests, unsafe settlements along riverbanks, or in makeshift tents by the roadside. Since this is also a matter of human sensitivity, the administration has stated that it has adopted a policy of not only removal but also management.

Currently, the administration offices in both districts are engaged in data collection and action plan formulation. Pirudevi Chaudhary of Basanta village in Kailari Rural Municipality said that the Ministry of Home Affairs' initiative is expected to free public lands in Sudurpashchim from encroachment and provide justice to genuine squatters.

Stakeholders say that the management of squatters in the Terai region of Sudurpashchim is very challenging. In Kailali and Kanchanpur, political parties have been using squatter settlements as vote banks. These communities, who receive promises of land ownership during elections, used to face political pressure when attempts were made to remove them from their settlements.

“When we remove encroachments along open drains and rivers, it reduces the risk of major floods and inundation in the future. This is something the public needs to understand. This work can be easily accomplished with coordination and cooperation,” said Chief District Officer Regmi.

Currently, the administration offices in both districts are engaged in data collection and action plan formulation. Pirudevi Chaudhary of Basanta village in Kailari Rural Municipality said that the Ministry of Home Affairs' initiative is expected to free public lands in Sudurpashchim from encroachment and provide justice to genuine squatters.

“There has been a large encroachment here, and we don't own even a dhur of land. The government must identify genuine squatters and remove encroachments. Those who have houses in two places must be identified. Those who are wrong are afraid. We are hopeful of getting justice,” she said.