Govt. decides to provide monthly Rs 15,000 to landless squatters

The Nepal government has announced a rehabilitation package for landless and squatter families displaced from riverbank settlements in Kathmandu, providing Rs 40,000 in total support.

The Nepal government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Tuesday decided to provide Rs 15,000 in rehabilitation support to each landless and squatter family displaced from riverbank settlements in Kathmandu.

The Council of Ministers on Tuesday decided to provide monthly funds for the next three months as temporary shelter costs for every family removed from the banks of the Bagmati River and other public lands.

The Cabinet also decided to provide Rs 25,000 in a lump sum for rehabilitation to each family after verifying the details of squatters living on the banks of rivers and on public land in the Kathmandu Valley.

So far, 15,000 people living in more than 2,600 households have been displaced as the government launched an eviction drive in Kathmandu Valley last month.

The landless squatters are demanding a piece of land and housing costs from the government as a long-term solution to the problem.

''The authorities demolished our three-story house located at Shankhamul area of Kathmandu, where we had lived for half a century without a land ownership certificate, with the hope that the government will come up with a solution,'' said Pavan Gurung, who is residing in a holding centre at Nepal Electricity Authority guest house, Kharipati.

''If the government cannot provide land elsewhere, then they should allow us to construct a house in the same area, where the demolition took place,'' said Babita Tamang, a landless squatter from the Balkhu area of Kathmandu, who is currently residing at the Kharipati Holding Centre.

Meanwhile, the Landless People and Unmanaged Squatters Struggle Committee has warned to launch intensified protests in Kathmandu and other major parts of the country from next month if their demand for providing alternative shelter and land pieces is not fulfilled.