Vanishing Public Land
ENCROACHMENT of public land has been
regularly reported but decisive action against the culprits has always been missing. This
is not only the story of Kathmandu but elsewhere in the country as well. In Kathmandu the
problem is very much glaring but due to indifference of the concerned authorities public
land has even been registered in the name of individuals while irregular settlements have
come up at different sites. The land, which is a government property, could have been
better used than being grabbed up by unscrupulous people. It is also a matter of concern
that at times there seems to be collusion with the employees of the land revenue offices.
What it calls is for updating the land ownership and action initiated against those who
claim public land as their own. The scientific method is urgently needed to maintain
records because without such a system in place, the land grabbers have it all for
themselves.
The extent of the damage done to areas marked
as green belt can be gleaned while observing the 15-metre stretch separated for such on
both sides of the 27-kilometre Ring Road. The green belt envisaged when the Ring Road was
built is but nowhere to be seen. The idea was not only to enhance the aesthetic look but
also provide the breathing space for the city which was expanding at a fast rate both in
terms of population and settlement. The rapid urbanisation, however, has out paced any
move undertaken for planned development. This speaks of the lack of commitment on the part
of those whose duty it is to maintain the city and prevent the encroachment of public
land. It is a complicated situation wherein the land earmarked for the green belt belongs
to the Roads Department while the Kathmandu Metropolitan City does the job of demolishing
unauthorised structures on the public land. The Roads department may have its own
reservations on managing the land it owns but the way it is being used as workshops,
vegetable markets, dumping ground, parking lots and so on needs proper management. When
such an area is being encroached upon in blatant violation of the existing legal
provisions, one can just imagine what would be fate of other public land which has not
received attention. For this, a beginning has to be made by identifying the public land
and necessary action taken to utilise it in a fruitful way. And, most importantly, there
needs to be proper coordination among the agencies which have a stake over such land.
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