National parks, reserves clearing illegal encroachment

Kathmandu, Mar. 29: Encroachment in and around the national park’s forest and buffer zone areas for housing and agriculture use are burning issues in Nepal. But national parks and reserves are now working to remove such illegal settlements and land use in various parts.

Last week, Chitwan National Park (CNP) in coordination with Khadgadal Battalion and Siddhibax Battalion removed nine illegal under-construction houses and shelters at Sunkhola in Khusung Khola Municipality-9, Madhi, under the national park’s buffer zone area.

Bardiya National Park (BNP) removed a few under-construction shelters in Chepang near Betani post at Bashgadhi Municipality adjoining the national park’s buffer zone area. “They were about to construct shelters illegally in the area, said the Chief Conservation Officer at BNP Ashok Bhandari. 

“These are reoccurring problems in the buffer zone and forest areas. We ask them not to build housing illegally but when we found them constructing their settlements, we remove them with the help of army officials and in the presence of concerned authorities,” said Information Officer at CNP Ganesh Prasad Tiwari.

According to Tiwari, human settlements have encroached on the forest in various places in the buffer zone of this park. People come from various hilly areas in the hope of gaining land by constructing a temporary house at first but later they start constructing the concrete building. “But, we discourage them from building any kind of house (temporary or permanent),” he said. 

There are already many people residing nearby buffer zone areas, mostly since the insurgency period, without land ownership certificate. “We are unable to remove old encroachment, but we’ll not allow new house building,” he said.

According to CNP, about 1217.46 hectares of the area have been encroached in 15 places of the park and buffer zone areas as per 2015 data. The study was done in participation with the local people and technicians.

Tiwari said, “To prevent further encroachment, the office has regularly monitored the encroached areas. In addition, coordination and cooperation are being done with the relevant agencies to prevent further encroachment, while a detailed action plan is being prepared to remove the old encroachment.”

Meanwhile, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) wrote a letter on March 22, 2023 asking all the national parks situated in Chitwan, Bardiya, Banke, Suklaphanta, Parsa, Shivapuri-Nagarjun, Langtang, Shey-Phoksundo, Rara, Khaptad and Makalu Barun to remove 

encroachment under National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1972, Buffer Zone Management Regulation 1995, Encroachment Control Policy 2011 and other existing laws.

According to Ajay Karki, Deputy Director General at the DNPWC, people are encroaching on the forest and national park areas and constructing structures in the name of migration, landless, the victim of disasters, schools and temples, and to control the encroachment, the department has given directions to the wardens of all the national parks to remove the illegal settlements under the existing law in coordination with concerned authorities.

The department, in a letter to wardens, has said that as per the provisions of the National Parks and Wildlife 

Conservation Act 1972, Buffer Zone Management Regulation 1995, no land inside the national forests in national parks, reserves and buffer zones can be registered in the name of any individual, nor can anybody claim his/her rights on these land. 

Likewise, the land cannot be used for the development of infrastructure projects without the government of Nepal deciding to allow the building of structures there.

“Therefore, since we have been informed that the process has started to register the forest land that was encroached and used for other purposes at the National Land Commission, we requested you to make correspondence with the commission’s district offices or units for the same,” read the letter sent by the department to wardens of all national parks and reserves.