Revelations of the 1,350-page Rawal Commission Report obtained through use of the Right to Information. With the names and addresses of people named by the commission as encroachers of government and public land, and plot numbers of the encroached areas.

Akash Chhetri: Centre for Investigative Journalism-Nepal

After increasing complaints of encroachment upon government and public land, the Girija Prasad Koirala government formed the ‘High Level Commission on Government and Public Land Inquiry and Conservation’ on December 31, 1992. The commission led by former secretary Ram Bahadur Rawal submitted its report after two years. Known as Rawal Report, government authorities did not take an effective action over the findings in the 25 years since.

According to an official at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation, “This was also in the interest of ministry officials to keep mum over the report of the commission that showed nearly 1,800 ropani government land encroached upon. Because people holding high posts of the country were linked to it.”

(Conversion:

Measurement of area in terms of Ropani

508.74 sq m = 1 ropani = 16 anna = 5476 sq. ft.     

31.79 sq m   =  1 anna   =  4 paisa =  342.25 sq. ft.     

7.94 sq m   =  1 paisa   =  4 dam   =  85.56 sq. ft.     

Source: housingnepal.com)

(Link: The name, address, plot number and the area of land encroached upon as identified by the Rawal Commission as encroachers of public and government land.)

Details of the report were kept secret for long. To those who raised questions occasionally about it, the ministry handed a few details comprising the background of the commission formation and encroachment of the 1,800 ropanis of land.

We asked the ministry for detailed information about the commission’s report. Ministry officials refused to share the details saying that the report holds information on a large number of people. We filed an application on February 21, 2019 using the right to information. After paying a charge of Rs 13,500, the 1,500-page report came to our hand. This report is based on that.

Ponds and springs not spared

The report has revealed that a total of 1,859 ropani 14 anna land has been encroached upon in Kathmandu district. Much of that valuable land is public or owned by government. The places where land has been encroached upon in particular are Chabahil, Bouddha, Battisputali, Thapathali, Baneshwor, Koteshwor, Handigaun and Budhanilkantha. Among the victims of encroachment are ponds, temples, streams, wells, stone spouts, land and houses of trusts, and roads and pavements.

Here are some of the examples of land encroachment presented in the report. At the heart of Kathmandu, Kamalpokhari land has been grabbed. According to the Kathmandu Land Revenue Office, 15 anna 1 paisa 3 dam land of plot number 4041 was registered in the name of Padam Kumari Gurung while Maniratna Gurung had registered 2 ropani 10 anna 1 paisa 1 dam (plot 404) of the historical pond in his name.

Four anna of plot 1340 is registered in the name of Sita Tamang and plot number 1851 in the name of a person called Krishna Maya. Also belonging to Kamalpokhari, 12 anna land of plots 1850 and 368 is seen to have been registered as private property but the report fails to identify the culprit.

The report also explains how the Naagpokhari pond was encroached upon. Ten anna 1 paisa, plot 452 of the Naagpokhari land, is listed as the property of Shyam Kumar Giri and Shyam Shrestha.

The report shows that the main entrance of Seto Durbar has not been spared either. Devendra Shumsher JB Rana is found to have claimed 2 paisa 2 dam (plot 102) while 1 anna 3 dam (plot 102) is listed in Bhikshu Ratna Shakya’s name.

Also notable among the encroachers is Sangri-La Hotel. According to the report, 1 ropani 14 anna 1 paisa land has now been converted into the road. The hotel has built a compound wall to claim 7 annas of the plot.

The report also shows Hotel Kathmandu has grabbed 8 anna land. It operates over a 3 ropani 9 anna piece of plot 1 while the Kanti Culture Centre Marajgunj has constructed a building for rent on the rest. Champion Footwear company is also seen to have occupied 11 ropani 13 anna public land.

Dewasthal in Dallu, Swayambhu, has also been encroached upon. According to the report, in the meadow of plot 1, Kanchhi, Bhaikaji and Siddhiman Maharjan have built three concrete houses on a total of 5 anna 1 paisa 1 dam land while they have built huts on another 3 annas and rented the property. Of the adjoining public land, Dorje Lama and Chundari Lama have built concrete houses on 1 ropani 8 anna land.

A bigger issue is seen in Syawambhu. The 252 ropani 4 anna land of plot 726 has been used to build monastery, houses, compound, kitchen garden and water tank. The 11 ropani 7 anna land of plot 18 has been cultivated after building two concrete houses.

The report provides details of encroachment of Dhobidhara on the way to Kumari Hall from Putalisadak. “The historically public Dhobidhara land of 1 anna 1 paisa 1 dam [plot 115], to the left of the way from Putalisadak to Kumari Hall is seen to have been registered as per the decision of November 18, 1980 in the name of Lok Bahadur Dhobi, Bhola Dhobi and Buddhi Bahadur Dhobi,” says the report.

500 ropani goes to waste

The Rawal Commission has divided into two groups the occupants of public land in Kathmandu. One group is those directly occupying the public land; another kind is people broadening the scope of one’s property by occupying public land adjacent to the border.

More than 500 ropani land in Kathmandu has got into the hands of illegal claimants of the first type. Most of such lost property is in the erstwhile Ward 5 of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. In the city, 41 individuals have taken for themselves 73 ropani 14 anna land of 9 plots.

Next, significant chunks of land have been claimed in wards 7, 9, 15 and 6, respectively. In the erstwhile Ward 7, 191 individuals have misappropriated public land of 58 plots amounting to 61 ropani 10 anna. Details show that in the erstwhile Ward 9, 113 individuals have encroached upon 60 ropani 10 anna land of 18 plots. In the erstwhile Ward 15, 120 people have claimed 51 ropani 15 anna land of 22 plots. In the erstwhile Ward 6, 97 individuals have grabbed 49 ropani 15 anna land of 22 plots. In the then Ward 6, 97 individuals have claimed 49 ropani 15 anna land of 18 plots.

In each of the erstwhile wards 34, 3, 8, 4 and 13, 20 to 40 ropanis of public land has been misused. In Ward 34, 40 ropani 8 anna land of six plots has been registered in the name of individuals. Such misappropriation of land is 36 ropani 8 anna of 19 plots in Ward 3, 34 ropani 14 anna over 16 plots in Ward 8, 26 ropani 14 anna over 16 plots of Ward 4, and 21 ropani 8 anna of 3 plots in Ward 13.

The report shows that the erstwhile wards 11, 14, 2 and 35 each saw 5 to 10 ropanis of their public land encroached upon. In Ward 11, 17 people have grabbed 9 ropani 11 anna of 8 plots. In Ward 14, 120 individuals have grabbed 9 ropani 13 anna land of 20 plots while that loss of land in Ward 2 is 6 ropani 3 anna of 4 plots at the hands of 4 individuals. In Ward 35, 32 individuals have encroached upon 6 ropani 3 anna public land of 11 plots.

In the erstwhile wards 1, 20, 29 and 33, land around 2 ropani each is seen to have been encroached upon. These are among the wards of Kathmandu where the encroachment is minimum. In Ward 1, 19 individuals have encroached upon 2 ropani 1 anna land of six plots while 105 people have grabbed 1 ropani 14 anna land of six plots in Ward 20. In Ward 29, seven people have claimed 1 ropani 1 anna land of five plots while three owners have encroached upon 1 ropani 2 anna land of three plots in Ward 33.

Property owners claim 1,300 ropani

There are a significant number of people in Kathmandu who make their own the public land adjacent to their private land. According to the Rawal Report, 5,978 individuals have claimed 1,347 of public land of 1,687 plots next to their private property in the erstwhile 35 wards of Kathmandu city.

Most of the land encroached in the metropolis is in erstwhile wards 10, 6, 35, 7 and 16. In Ward 10, 606 individuals have pushed the boundaries of their private land to claim a total of 184 ropani public land over 52 plots. In Ward 6, as many as 580 landowners have made their own 171 ropani public land from 102 plots. In Ward 35, 496 individuals have gone beyond their private property to claim 153 ropani public land of 83 plots while the data for Ward 7 is 130 ropani 15 anna public property claimed by 907 private landowners. In Ward  16, 90 owners have moved into 101 ropani 8 anna public land of 93 plots beyond their private property.

In erstwhile wards 34, 9, 14, 4 and 8, propertied individuals are found to have laid claim to a total of 50 to 100 ropani public land. In Ward 34, people have eaten into 84 ropani 10 anna public land of 38 plots. Such amount of encroachment is 76 ropani 13 anna public land of 54 plots in Ward 9 by 356 individuals, and 74 ropani 8 anna of 50 plots in Ward 14 by 312 individuals. In Ward 4, 409 owners have misappropriated 76 ropani 9 anna public land of 75 plots while in Ward 8, up to 290 owners have claimed 65 ropani 6 anna land of 46 plots.

According to statistics at the ministry, the encroachment of public land by private owners in each of the erstwhile wards 15, 5, 12, 29, 19 and 11 amounts to 20 to 50 ropanis. In Ward 15, 539 property owners have got hold of 48 ropani 1 anna public land of 75 plots.

In Ward 5, such claimants of 42 ropani 6 anna land from 50 plots number 197. In Ward 12, a total of 225 owners have grabbed 30 ropani 12 anna of 181 plots. That figure is 29 ropani 3 anna land of 61 plots encroached upon by 239 individuals.

The report shows that 33 private land owners claimed 22 ropani 5 anna public property of 14 plots in Ward 19. In Ward 11, 21 ropani 8 anna public land of 18 plots went to 313 owners.

In the erstwhile wards 17, 13, 3, 33 and 2 each, individuals are found to have pushed their boundaries further into public land measuring 5 to 15 ropanis in total. In Ward 17, 197 individuals have grabbed 14 ropani 9 anna public land of 175 plots.

In Ward 13, 97 individuals have marked for ownership 13 ropani 7 anna public land of 34 plots next to their private land. In Ward 3, 78 individuals have extended their claim to 8 ropani 4 anna public land of 21 plots. The extent of public land encroachment in Ward 33 is 6 ropani 13 anna of 122 plots by 160 property owners. In Ward 2, 65 owners are seen to have claimed 5 ropani 3 anna government land of 64 plots next to their border.

In wards 32, 1, 18, 21, 24 and 31 each, different families have got hold of public land totaling 1 to 4 ropanis adjacent to their boundaries. In the remaining 8 wards of Kathmandu, public land encroachment amounted to less than a ropani each.

25 years of futile exercise

The same year the commission submitted its report, the Council of Ministers formed a committee led by the Kathmandu chief district officer December 21, 1995 to look into the cases of land encroachment and take the necessary process forward. However, the committee did not do any work.

Immediately afterwards, another committee chaired by the deputy director of Land Revenue Department was formed. The panel was tasked with selling and renting at the going rate, or demolishing, houses built on small plots of land, and fenced plots without affecting the environment and the local community. The second panel also did none of the assignments.

Another committee was formed under the then director general of the Land Revenue Department on April 19, 1999. It was given the responsibility of passing the plot of land in the name of the individual who had claimed it by charging an appropriate price. The committee did nothing as it could not define the “appropriate price”.

A case was filed in the Supreme Court 16 years ago against the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Advocate Prakash Mani Sharma pleaded for conservation of public land. In its ruling, the court ordered the authorities on May 26, 2010 to implement the report of the Rawal Commission.

The ruling said: “A directive order is deemed necessary to implement soon with high priority the Rawal Commission’s report and to take due legal action after probing the issue of government and public land encroachment elsewhere in the country.”

The Supreme Court ordered the formation of an inquiry committee. The committee had got the mandate to ascertain how the state can reclaim the lost public spaces and the immediate measures to take for it. The committee including a secretary from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the joint attorney general had orders to submit its report within three months but it did not effectively comply.

On August 11, 2013, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority wrote to the Land Reform Ministry about conservation of public property. The letter directed the ministry to furnish the details of action plan to be made after reviewing the suggestions and recommendations of the taskforces formed in the past. This order was also not effective.

Baburam Acharya, survey officer of the Rawal Commission and former director general of the Survey Department, says: “The report was prepared by comparing the details of old and new maps. Commission officials had also studied in detail the records at land revenue offices and conducted field visits of the plots [in question].”

“The commission has listed all the details of public land encroached upon. The agencies concerned should have taken necessary actions based on this but nothing has happened so far,” Acharya added.

Gopinath Mainali, secretary at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation, says: “The Rawal Commission did a commendable job but its report failed to be implemented.”