Kathmandu: The major three parties and Madhesi Morcha have agreed to rid the Capital city’s river banks of squatters’ settlements. A meeting of the top leaders of UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Morcha held at Gokarna Forest Resort on Sunday decided to evict squatters from the encroached river land. According to NC Vice President Ram Chandra Poudel, all the parties unanimously agreed on the proposal forwarded by Home Minister Bijay Kumar Gachhadar.

Such a formal decision from the top parties has eased the problem faced by the taskforce, which is preparing to use force to evict squatters. A meeting among the government bodies, including Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and Ministry of Environment under the coordination of Minister Gachhadar, had formed the 17-member taskforce on November 27.
Mahesh Bahadur Basnet, chairperson of High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilisation and coordinator of the taskforce, said the decision made by the major parties has paved the way for the implementation of their plan. “We were afraid that political parties and their sister wings might create obstructions during the eviction process. But that suspicion has been cleared with Sunday’s decision,” Basnet told the Post. He said that eviction is a must as the committee faced resistance to execute its second phase of the project due to dense settlements on the Bagmati banks. It has already awarded a contract worth Rs 230 million to launch a sewage management programme from Tilganga to Minbhawan. Twenty-meter area on the either side of Bagmati, Bishnumati, Hanumante and Manohara falls under public land.
The taskforce decided to use force after the squatters turned down its three ultimatums, saying that they won’t leave the place unless they are provided with appropriate alternatives. It has readied a team comprising around 3,000 police personnel—both from Nepal Police and Armed Police Force—led by their respective DIGs and bulldozers and trucks to swing into action. Meanwhile, the Patan Appellate Court on Sunday issued a stay order in the name of three District Administrative Offices of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Police, High Powered Committee and the taskforce asking them not to execute the forceful eviction plan unless the court issues its final verdict. Responding to the writ filed by the alliance of five squatters’ organisations, the court has also called all stakeholders to attend its final hearing on December 11.

Source: The Kathmandu Post, December 5, 2011