Tiliganga Residents Protest Eviction, Claim Prior Agreement

Kathmandu. After the eviction of settlements in the Tilganga area, local residents have protested, claiming a prior agreement. The affected locals staged a sit-in at the Pashupati Area Development Trust office today.

Locals participating in the protest recalled that the Tilganga area was included in the master plan implemented in 2071 BS, and at that time, an agreement was made with the Trust regarding land exchange. They stated that while residents of Pashupati Bazaar and Vanakali areas were provided with land, they were labeled as squatters and bulldozed.

According to the locals, they are not squatters but landowners with land ownership certificates. Mentioning that some land is under trust ownership and some is raikar (private land), they said that the income from that area was also used for the operation of trust-related festivals and ceremonies.

The affected residents claimed that there was a provision in the agreement with the Trust to sell their land at government valuation and for the Trust to purchase land at government valuation. According to them, the agreement was for land exchange based on prevailing market rates, not compensation as in other places.

The locals also mentioned that the Trust had assured them of providing four annas of land in the Gothatar area. According to them, their houses were removed contrary to the agreement that "land will be vacated within 45 days of its provision."