Classifying land within Phewa Lake criteria moves forward

By Santosh Subedi,Kaski, April. 1: Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya has said that the classification of land falling within the 65-meter standard of Phewa Lake is underway.

He informed that, according to the standard, the area within 65 meters has been registered as contaminated and compensation amounts are being determined.

“This is a very sensitive matter; not a single plot has been left out. Another issue is that the plots may have been shifted during the survey conducted around 1975/76 and during the re-survey later. Therefore, the technical committee is working to double-check and re-verify everything,” he said.

Mayor Acharya stated that there is a plan to establish a buffer 

zone for the lake, beginning with government offices that fall within the lake’s standards. Implementation will start with government buildings and structures.

Work will begin to clear the 65-meter area where the Tourism Board, the Metropolitan Education Office, and the Nepal Police headquarters are located. The Metropolitan has also allocated a budget for this.

The task of installing 1,055 pillars has been completed, maintaining the highest water level in the lake at 75.95 meters. Earlier, the technical sub-committee formed by the Supreme Court’s Judgment Implementation Facilitation Committee had demarcated boundaries for installing 1,055 digital poles along the banks of Phewa Lake.

Mayor Acharya said that the work of separating contaminated land within the 65-meter standard by a team of technicians has reached its final stage. He explained that the first phase of demarcation was completed by determining the “high flood point” of the lake, as ordered by the Supreme Court.

According to him, after an 18-month-long technical study, the high water level (high flood point) of Phewa Lake has been identified and an area of 65 meters beyond it has been allocated. The metropolis plans to begin evaluating the lands to be compensated in the third phase.

Mayor Acharya clarified that no one will be forced to vacate land without compensation.

He said, “After completing a long study and research of almost 18 months, on June 31, 2026, we formally started the work of installing poles along the banks of Phewa Lake with the Chief Minister, myself, the CDO, friends from other political parties and security agencies.”

“Our announcement was to complete the work within this fiscal year. Accordingly, we installed all 1,055 poles wherever possible. In many places on steep slopes, rocky areas, or where poles could not be buried, we left markers to indicate the boundaries,” he added.