The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has said that they cannot help Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) remove landless squatters’ settlements from Thapathali immediately.
In response to KMC‘s request to help remove the squatters’ settlements, the Home Ministry informed a detailed discussion and coordination among stakeholders, and preparations are needed before removing such settlements.
On December 28, the Chief Administrative Officer of KMC, Basanta Adhikari, had written to the ministry requesting coordination and security personnel for the evacuation.
Kathmandu metropolis had sought help from the MoHA to evacuate landless squatters living along the Bagmati River bank, including the Thapathali area.
However, the ministry has not explicitly mentioned it will not cooperate with the metropolis but explained that certain conditions should be met before planning a forceful move such as bulldozing the squatter settlements.
“The ministry will extend its support to the work of protecting public properties and areas on riverbanks as per the set rules,” the letter reads,
“The ministry will support the metropolitan city’s initiatives for solving the overall problem after coordination with all sectors of stakeholders, and necessary preparations.”
On November 28, KMC took a dozer to remove the squatters of Thapathali but failed to remove the structures due to the protests from the squatter settlement.
