Five families homeless after seizure of land by Melamchi Water Project

By Chitra Kumar Mijar,Sindhupalchok, May 2: Five families in Bahunepati of Melamchi Municipality have been left homeless after their land was seized by the Melamchi Drinking Water Project.

The project occupied 12 ropani, five aana, one paisa and two daam of land belonging to Hiralal Shrestha, Ganesh Das Shrestha, Ram Chandra Shrestha, Bina Shrestha and Nani Maya Shrestha. As a result, the families have been displaced and are now living in temporary shelters along the banks of the Indrawati River.

According to the affected residents, an Italian contractor, Cooperativa Muratori e Cementisti di Ravenna (CMC), which arrived in Nepal in 2013 to work on the project, had initially rented their land to store construction materials. The land also included their homes. 

The Italian contractor had constructed several concrete structures on the land during its stay. It remained there for three years and three months, paying rent for both the houses and land on time. However, after abandoning the project in December 2018, the contractor left behind equipment worth millions of rupees. The Melamchi project then took control of the land and houses to secure those materials. The site has since been locked, and security guards have been deployed.

Despite repeated requests by the landowners to return their property -- especially on February 20, 2019 after clearing outstanding rent -- the project has yet to hand it back. “We have been forced to live in makeshift shelters by the river,” said Hiralal Shrestha, who is now 71.

The situation worsened after the devastating Melamchi floods of 2021 swept away their remaining farmland, leaving them with no option but to stay on the riverbank in tin-roofed huts.

His son, Rajanlal Shrestha, visited Singha Durbar, the Melamchi Water Supply Project office, the Ministry of Water Supply and other offices in search of the return of their land and payment of rent, but he has received neither. 

On October 7, 2024, an agreement was reached between stakeholders of the intake area in the presence of then Water Supply Minister Pradeep Yadav to provide rent to the victims. However, until now, none of them have received either the rent or their land back.

On November 11, 2025, another discussion among stakeholders was held in the presence of then Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Water Supply Kulman Ghising, where it was agreed that the rent for the land would be paid within 15 days. 

The Executive Director of the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, Bal Mukund Shrestha, said that after CMC left the project, rent payments to landowners remained outstanding for seven years.

On December 20, 2011, under government mediation, the Melamchi Water Supply Project and locals had agreed to provide rent compensation of Rs. 847,875 to the victims. In 2023, the development committee also reached an agreement with landowners to pay Rs. 17.6 million in rent as soon as possible.

However, the payment has not been made. As per the agreement, the project should pay Rs 3.57 million annually in rent.

After the Italian contractor CMC abandoned the project and fled, its deposit was taken into government ownership. Locals said that materials worth billions of rupees -- including generators, cranes, tippers, four-phase copper cables, vehicles, rock bolts and other equipment -- stored on the land in Bahunepati were handed over to Sino Hydro.

Locals have alleged corruption in the sale of expensive equipment. Vehicles, heavy cables and other machinery have started to rust and deteriorate. Due to the failure to pay rent to the landowners, the victims have been forced to live in makeshift shelters along the riverbank.