Hetauda Road Expansion Faces Legal Uncertainty Amidst Supreme Court Orders

Makwanpur. The Hetauda market area currently appears chaotic due to the dispute over road expansion. The trade and business being conducted in the demolished houses and structures not only increases the risk but also creates further uncertainty with the Supreme Court's order. The expansion work has been affected by the interim order given in some cases by the Supreme Court, which had previously dismissed 343 cases of a similar nature filed against road expansion until 2080 BS. Homeowners in the market area have been demanding compensation, while the administration has repeatedly directed to clear the road boundaries. However, on December 20, bulldozers were used on hundreds of houses in the Hetauda market area, citing that they fell within the road area. With security forces present, parts of houses falling within the road boundary were removed. Houses and structures falling within the road boundary for road expansion had already been demolished from Rapti Road to Buddhachok, Main Road to Karra, Ratomate, and from Buddhachok to Piplbot, Chokitol downhill. On that day, even when the concerned homeowners showed an interim order, the bulldozer of the road office did not stop. Claiming ignorance of that letter, houses and structures within the seven-kilometer area of the Hetauda market were demolished. Currently, trade is ongoing in the houses whose front parts were demolished. The road expansion work in the Hetauda market area has not been able to proceed due to the pending decision of the Supreme Court. The work of clearing the road boundary in the Hetauda market area, which started last winter, has not yet been completed even with the onset of the monsoon. Due to the unresolved case pending in the court, the work left incomplete by the Road Division Office Hetauda has been stalled for the past six months. Although an order was given to present the latest writ petition filed in the Supreme Court to a full bench, a decision has not been reached immediately. Uncertainty has arisen while awaiting the decisive verdict of the Supreme Court's full hearing on the Hetauda road expansion dispute. When will the full bench hearing take place? The road expansion work in Hetauda's main market area, stalled for a long time due to disputes over compensation and road boundaries, is currently stuck in the Supreme Court for a decision. The Supreme Court has given priority to the writ of mandamus filed by locals including RPP leader and former MP Bindubashini Kansakar. The dispute has been ongoing for years between the plan of the Division Road Office Hetauda to expand the East-West Highway passing through Hetauda's main market to 25-25 yards (approximately 25 meters) and the stance of local homeowners that their ancestral property should be protected. On December 16, 2082 BS, Kansakar and others filed a writ against the Division Road Office Hetauda, Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City, and the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. On December 19, a bench of Justice Meghraj Pokharel issued a show-cause notice and a short-term interim order in the name of the respondents. That order temporarily halted the demolition of houses in the name of road expansion. On February 18, a joint bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Abdul Aziz Musalman granted priority to present the case for a full hearing. The case will be expedited for a final decision. However, the case, scheduled for hearing on February 10 and 27, 2082 BS, was placed on the list of cases to be heard later. Since then, the case has not been scheduled for a hearing. Details of the ongoing case. Work will proceed after legal process: Chief Karki. Kiran Karki, Chief (CDE) of the Road Division Office Hetauda, stated that the road expansion and management have been delayed due to legal complications. He mentioned that although the Supreme Court had already dismissed 343 cases related to road expansion, work had to be stopped due to interim orders in some new cases. According to Karki, the government is preparing to allocate budget for the work through multi-year contracts for the upcoming year. He said, 'We had started a phase of work, but the court's latest order has added some problems. Respecting the judiciary, we are currently in the legal process. Responses are being sent to the court through the government lawyer, and hearings are being followed. The Government of Nepal has a clear policy on road expansion. Budget has also been arranged. As soon as the legal problems in the field are resolved, the expansion work will gain momentum.' The office has also focused on managing the debris and scrap generated after the demolition of houses and structures along the roadside. He stated that some locals are safely removing their belongings themselves, and coordination is being done with the District Administration Office and Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City regarding the management of the remaining materials. He clarified how the work is being carried out without causing problems in traffic movement and minimizing damage to locals. How many houses and structures are there? It is estimated that there are 531 houses and structures in the market area of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City during the road expansion. According to the Road Division Office Hetauda, there are 531 houses and structures in the road boundary area, and 500 houses in a seven-kilometer stretch were demolished in December. The expansion work, which has been stopped repeatedly, was advanced on December 20, and the road boundary of Tribhuvan Rajpath and Mahendra Highway was cleared by demolishing the tops and shutters of houses. In the first phase, the road boundary from Ratomate to Buddhachok of Hetauda-15, and from Buddhachok to Chokitol downhill, was cleared. The office's data shows that 234 houses and structures are on the right side and 297 on the left side of the road. Other physical structures, including 2 banks and 3 petrol pumps, within the 9.5-kilometer road area have been removed. On the 6.3-kilometer stretch of the Mahendra Highway, Nepal Bank, Himalayan Bank, and 3 petrol pumps were also demolished. The office had issued a public notice on December 5, giving a 15-day ultimatum to remove structures falling within the boundary area. 2078 BS Verdict Implemented in 2082 BS The Supreme Court had issued an order for the road expansion of the Hetauda market area, which has been stalled for a long time, back in 2078 BS. The Division Road Office Hetauda had issued a notice in 2073 BS and even used bulldozers to clear the road boundary. Local residents of Hetauda had filed a case in the Supreme Court against that action. The road expansion work was halted due to that case. According to Yadav Subedi, Information Officer of the Road Division Office Hetauda, the effort for road expansion is not sudden; a notice was issued again on June 10, 2080 BS, to clear the road boundary. He stated that 14 individuals filed a case demanding a writ of mandamus and other orders against that notice. He said that the road expansion work could not proceed due to the pending decision of that case. Currently, notices to clear the road boundary have been issued four times: June 20, 2073 BS, December 2076 BS, June 10, 2080 BS, and December 5, 2082 BS, according to Subedi. He mentioned that some notices were issued before that as well. According to him, a series of lawsuits were filed to stop the road expansion. However, he stated that the Supreme Court, in 2080 BS, dismissed the petitions of the related applicants, ruling that the land and structures within the road boundary are public property. 'There were 343 cases in the past, which prevented work from moving forward. However, the Supreme Court's decisions on January 17, 2080 BS, and December 17, 2080 BS, have cleared all legal ambiguities regarding road boundaries. Now there are no legal obstacles. When the court declared structures within 25/25 yards illegal, it is our duty to remove them and enforce the law,' said Subedi. Accordingly, the road expansion work was proceeding, but the Hetauda Road Division Office halted the market area's 25/25 yard (75 meters) road expansion work immediately after registering the Supreme Court's January 19 order. With the Supreme Court's stay order registered at the Hetauda Road Division Office, the office immediately suspended the ongoing road expansion and demolition work. Road Expansion Past In Hetauda, bulldozers were first used for road expansion in the market area on December 14, 2073 BS. The bulldozing in the Hetauda market area was led by the then Regional Administrator Binod KC. However, he was transferred a few days later. After that, the work could not proceed. At that time, bulldozers were used on houses and structures from Manahari to Raptiroad, and homeowners and traders took to the streets in protest. According to the Road Division, 343 cases were filed by the owners of houses and structures built within the road boundary area based on the court verdict data. Although the process of removing encroachments from the road boundary was initiated by issuing a notice on June 17, 2073 BS, the work had to be stopped due to a stay order from the Supreme Court. A notice was published again on June 10, 2080 BS, but the work had to be stopped as 14 stakeholders filed a case demanding a writ of mandamus and other orders. The office stated that the Road Division has issued notices four times: in 2073, 2076, 2080, and 2082 BS. The joint bench of the High Court Patan on January 19, 2073 BS, in 9 filed cases, ordered, 'It does not appear that an interim order should be issued as per the petitioner's request.' The Division stated that the writ filed against the road expansion notice published on June 10, 2080 BS, was dismissed by the Supreme Court on December 17, 2080 BS, as mentioned in the operative part of the verdict.