An on-site inspection of 18 out of 22 campuses in Kathmandu was conducted to search for land. It was found that about 150 ropanis of land on seven campuses was encroached upon.
What you should know
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has initiated an investigation into the encroachment and embezzlement of Tribhuvan University land. The Tribhuvan University Land and Immovable Property Investigation Committee 2081, formed by the government, had recommended action, pointing out that about 2,500 ropanis of Tribhuvan University land had been encroached upon. The study and investigation were initiated after obtaining a report from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, said CIAA spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Poudel.
‘The work of studying the report is almost complete. We have also requested additional evidence for the investigation,’ he said, ‘We will initiate an investigation and take action.’
The committee formed under the coordination of former Joint Secretary Mahendra Kumar Thapa has pointed out that the land encroachers should be further investigated by the Authority for Authorization, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Police and the Police Administration and brought to justice. The committee has pointed out that the operators of the lab school have tried to seize the university’s land by creating forged documents. TU officials have been saying that they cannot bring back the encroached land without the government’s help.
Registrar Kedar Rijal confirmed that the Authority has asked for land-related documents from TU for additional evidence. ‘We have sent some documents and are in the process of sending some more,’ he said. A TU employee said that the Authority has requested documents and evidence on issues including the 108 ropanis of land occupied by the laboratory (lab school). "How much land does Tribhuvan University have? How much is in use? How much has been encroached. Details of that have been demanded. We are collecting more documents to send detailed details to the CIAA," he said.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sushila Karki had sought information from the concerned officials about the progress in the process of returning the encroached land of Tribhuvan University.
In the presence of Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, Education Minister Mahabir Pun, and Communications Minister Jagdish Kharel, she held discussions with Vice-Chancellor Deepak Aryal, Rector Khadga KC, Registrar Rijal, and others. Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal, Education Secretary Chudamani Poudel, and officials of the Land Search Committee also participated in the discussion.
Prime Minister Karki had sought information about the progress made so far in the implementation of the report and expressed interest in the upcoming process. She had inquired about how much was returned after the report was made public, how the return process was progressing, and what action was taken against the culprits.
An official participating in the discussion said that Prime Minister Karki had directed that the trend of unrelated organizations and individuals occupying TU land, grabbing it by force and even selling it should be stopped immediately. “Whoever is guilty should be brought to justice immediately,” the official said, quoting the Prime Minister.
In the meeting with the Prime Minister, TU officials had said that they expected the government’s support to remove those who have encroached on university land and maintain a register of misappropriated land. Home Minister Aryal said that the university itself should take the lead in the process of maintaining the register and that if land is illegally seized, a complaint should be filed with the CIB and other bodies as separate cases. He said that since the CIB has expertise and experience in land misappropriation, it is ready to take action.
After the discussion, TU is preparing to formulate an action plan to implement the report. "The government will take the initiative to return the land identified as encroached and form an investigation committee to conduct further studies," said a TU official.
He said that the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the CIAA, the police, the administration, etc. will be involved in implementing the action plan as needed. "The investigation of the land outside the Kathmandu Valley of TU has not yet been completed. There is a suspicion that land has been embezzled in some places within Kathmandu as well. However, this has not been confirmed. We urge the government to include the issue of forming a committee again to conduct further investigations in the action plan," he said.
The investigation committee has stated that out of the 5,218 ropanis of land acquired by the government in 2013 and 2030 for the establishment and operation of TU, about 2,539 ropanis of land have been encroached. It has been seen that about 1,843 ropanis of land in the Kirtipur campus has been reduced and embezzled. Similarly, the report of the University's Land and Immovable Property Investigation Committee 2081 states that 696 ropanis of land outside Kirtipur has also been encroached.
The committee has stated that 21 organizations and groups have been encroaching and occupying about 843 ropanis of land in the central office, Kirtipur. The report also mentions that 148 ropanis and 15 aanas of land have also been embezzled from the affiliated (government) campuses in the Kathmandu Valley under Tribhuvan University. The committee conducted an on-site inspection of 18 out of 22 campuses in Kathmandu and searched for the land. In which, it was found that about 150 ropanis of land from seven campuses have been encroached. The committee also stated that there are 1,253 ropanis of land from the affiliated campuses in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.
The report, which the KP Sharma Oli-led government has not made public since November 2002, was decided by the Interim Council of Ministers led by Sushila Karki to be sent to the Ministry of Education for implementation on October 26. According to the land search committee, Laboratory School, Radhaswami Satsang Vyas Nepal, Nepal Professors' Association, Tribhuvan University Professors' Association, Employees' Association, BP Koirala Memorial Planetarium, Ayurveda Research and Training Center, Nepal Netrajyoti Sangh have been using Tribhuvan University land in Kirtipur.
Similarly, Nepal Bank Limited, Global IME Bank, Police Circle Kirtipur, Balkhu and Kalimati, Lions Blood Transfusion Center, Nepal Cricket Association, Tribhuvan University Covered Hall have also been using Tribhuvan University land, according to the committee's report. Kathmandu Water Supply Board, Agriculture and Horticulture Center, Kirtipur Municipality, Stone, Gravel, Sand Depot, Nepal Electricity Authority have also been using Tribhuvan University land.
The committee has recommended that the CIAA and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the police should conduct further investigation and investigation into the 108 ropani land used by the Lab School. The committee's report points out that the school has been occupying the university's land illegally.
It has also been suggested that the land be returned to the University itself by taking a decision from the Council of Ministers as soon as possible. The school management, principal, employees, District Education Office and officials of the Ministry of Education, who claim that the land does not belong to the University, have been instructed to investigate according to the prevailing law. The school had submitted forged documents to the Land Revenue Office, Kalanki, claiming that the university's land belongs to them.
The report also finds that the religious organization Radhaswamy Satsang Vyas Nepal has been occupying and occupying 15 ropanis of government land in the name of the University. Since the organization has also started the process of registering the land in its name at the Land Revenue and Survey Office, it has been recommended to further investigate and take legal action against those involved in illegal activities. It has been pointed out that the land given to the Nepal Professors' Association, the TU Professors' Association and the TU Employees' Association for occupation is theirs and that they should be investigated and brought to justice. It has been pointed out that the guilty professors and employees should be investigated and taken action on charges of fraud for renting out the land given to them to operate hotels and petrol pumps.
It has been pointed out that 696 ropanis of land have been encroached on outside the Kirtipur campus in Naikap, Dillibazaar, Tripureshwor, Lubhu, Kapan and Swayambhu. The committee has recommended that the land of Naikap, Lubhu, Kapan and Swayambhu should be brought under the ownership of Tribhu. The committee has concluded that the university's land has not been protected due to the negligence of the officials. Five reasons have been pointed out for the embezzlement of the university's land. The first reason is that the officials of Tribhu have not even updated the land records. It is said that the officials have been negligent without fulfilling the responsibilities prescribed by law. The report states that the Tribhu Sabha, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, the Vice-Chancellor and the Education Minister are also responsible for this. The report states that the political leadership is also guilty of the lack of land protection. 'Misappropriation has taken place with the connivance of the political leadership, and the encroaching party has been protected. Political pressure, influence and vested interests have prevailed in distributing Tribhu's land,' the report says. The committee has mentioned that TU employees are also responsible for the land encroachment. Similarly, the committee has concluded that the land was embezzled due to lack of legal and policy clarity.
