Kathmandu, May 11 (PTI) Nepal’s opposition lawmakers on Monday criticised the Balendra Shah-led government’s move to bulldoze makeshift residences of landless squatters in various parts of the country without providing alternative arrangements.
The government has evicted more than 15,000 landless squatters in Kathmandu, dismantling approximately 4,000 structures over the past two weeks, saying that these dwellings were illegally constructed on public land and riverside areas.
The chief whips of opposition parties met Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal earlier in the day to discuss the matter.
Later, opposition lawmakers slammed the government’s move in the first meeting of the Parliament’s budget session.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmaker Khusbu Oli opposed the government’s move to dismantle the structures without providing landless people with alternatives.
Nepali Communist Party lawmaker Yuvraj Dulal reiterated the point while also raising objections to the government’s indiscriminate use of bulldozers without timely notifying the squatters.
“Why shouldn’t the government be charged with encouraging suicide in the case of eviction of landless squatters?” he said.
The evictions have already resulted in two suicides and left thousands, including pregnant women, and children, without shelter, healthcare, or access to education, according to a joint statement issued by 28 prominent Nepalese citizens.
During the session, Harka Rai, President of the Shram Sanskriti Party, sharply criticised the government for not showing empathy and demolishing the settlements without following proper procedures.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Nishkal Rai also expressed his dissent, and slammed the government for not providing alternative arrangements.
Earlier too, oppposition parties and different civil society groups criticised the government on the demolition drive.
Last week, Nepal’s Supreme Court issued an interim order directing the government not to remove squatters without a proper rehabilitation plan.
A joint bench of Justices Kumar Regmi and Nityananda Pandey issued an interim order stating that any action involving the removal of squatters or informal settlers and their relocation elsewhere must strictly follow legal procedures.
It took into account the risk of irreparable harm to their constitutional rights, including education, health and housing.
The bench also warned of a humanitarian crisis if such actions continue without proper safeguards. PTI SBP SKS GRS GRS
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