Govt. goes for vacate over SC verdict

Kathmandu, Sept. 16: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has lodged a petition at the Supreme Court (SC) seeking a review of the SC's verdict on maintaining criteria of leaving 20 meters of space on either side of the rivers in the Kathmandu Valley.     

A joint division of SC Justices Dr Anandamohan Bhattarai and Binod Sharma had issued a verdict to leave 20 metres of space on either side of the rivers while developing constructions and to demolish the settlements developed on the riverbank by encroaching upon the public land.     

The petition of the government has argued that the issue of leaving space on the river sides was exclusively the scope of the executive and the SC's verdict was inconsistent to that end.     

Earlier, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had said that the government was preparing to go for vacate over the SC's decision banning the construction of structures on an additional 20 metres of the river bank.     

Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Phanindra Gautam, registered the petition on behalf of the government through the Office of the Attorney General arguing that the verdict deems a review as it was not feasible for the implementation.     

The government has also stated that such an issue could go beyond the judicial managerial standards for its non-implementation.(RSS)