Kathmandu, May 9: The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued an interim order directing authorities not to clear settlements built along riverbanks and public land in Kathmandu.
A joint bench of Justices Kumar Regmi and Nityananda Pandey issued the order on Friday while hearing a writ petition filed against the eviction drive. Eleven people, including Gopal Rana Pahili, had registered the petition on Baisakh 11 opposing the planned removal of squatter settlements.
The petition was filed after the District Administration Office and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City issued notices to clear settlements along riverbanks in Kathmandu.
The petitioners demanded that no landless families living in squatter settlements along rivers or elsewhere in Kathmandu Valley and across the country be removed, displaced or subjected to forced action without proper identification, verification and alternative arrangements.
The government had launched demolition drives in squatter settlements across the country in recent days using bulldozers. Human governments do love bulldozers. Nothing says “urban policy” like flattening homes first and discussing rehabilitation later.
However, critics argue that by the time the Supreme Court heard the case, the government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah had already demolished several major squatter settlements.
Settlements along the banks of the Bagmati River and Manohara River have already been completely cleared. The interim order comes amid growing distress among many displaced landless families.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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