State Affairs Committee to Monitor Kathmandu's Squatter Holding Center

Kathmandu. The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives will monitor the squatter holding center in Banepa, Kavre. A meeting of the committee held on Thursday decided to monitor the holding center in Banepa. However, the date has not been set yet.

Committee Deputy Secretary Kanchha Dulal informed that the decision to monitor the holding center in Banepa has been made, but the time has not been confirmed yet.  

"A decision has been made to go for monitoring at the holding center where squatter families have been kept in Banepa. It has not been confirmed when we will go," Dulal told Ratopati. "The date has not been set. It has been decided to go after discussion."

In the meeting, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Urban Development Sunil Lamsal and Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Pratibha Rawal responded to the questions raised by the MPs regarding the bulldozing of squatter settlements.  

Responding in the meeting, Urban Development Minister Lamsal said that the squatters whose houses and huts were demolished have not been subjected to injustice.  "Those displaced by demolishing houses and huts will be resettled. There is no injustice to children, the elderly, new mothers, and the disabled," he said. "The government has been working with the first priority to resettle them. If there is any such hardship, the government is ready to solve it immediately."

In the meeting, MPs said that students have been subjected to injustice by demolishing schools.  "The students' schools have been demolished. They have been managed in other schools. Their studies have not been stopped," said Minister Rawal in her response.