Bardiya National Park has stated that over 628 hectares of forest area have been encroached upon in the past three decades.
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After the government directed to remove encroached areas, Bardiya National Park has started taking stock of encroached areas. It has been found that more than 600 hectares of land has been encroached on in the buffer zone of the park. Bardiya National Park has stated that more than 628 hectares of forest area have been encroached on in the past three decades.
Ashok Ram, Chief Conservation Officer of the park, said that in the first phase, work is being done to identify encroached areas and take stock of those living there. ‘All-party discussions will be held to identify and manage the real landless,’ he said, ‘There is a plan to remove encroachment as per the government’s directives.’
There is 50,607 hectares of land in the buffer zone under Bardiya National Park. Records of encroachment in 63 community forests under the Division Forest Office state that there are 258 community forests in the district. Forest officials say that there is data that more than 290.98 hectares of forest area has been encroached on.
The Division Forest Office has stated that 75 hectares of Jaya Kusumbadevi Community Forest located in Sangambasti, Gularia-2, and 23.46 hectares of Pashupati Community Forest located in Barbardiya Municipality-5 have been encroached upon.
Division Forest Chief Vijay Raj Subedi said that preparations are underway to remove encroachment from the forest areas of Kothiyaghat, Madhuban Municipality-1, and Machad, Machad, Madhuban Municipality-4, in the first phase from April 29. He said that after removing encroachment from two places, encroached forest areas will be gradually cleared elsewhere.
The mayors and chairmen of all eight municipalities of Bardiya had said in a statement last Wednesday that they would not cooperate with the government until proper management of the actual landless squatters was carried out. The municipal heads had drawn the government's attention to this as it was seen that there was no coordination between the concerned bodies and no due process while respecting fundamental rights. The mayors of Gulariya, Madhuban, Thakurbaba, Rajapur, Basgadhi, and Barbardiya municipalities and the chairperson of Geruwa Rural Municipality issued a statement from the meeting held in Madhuban Municipality.
The Division Forest Office had issued a notice last week to remove the houses and huts built illegally in Kothiyaghat, Machadchowk, Sangam Basti of Gulariya, Khurkhurephanta of Barbardiya, Rambasti, Amar Mahila Community Forest and other community forest areas within the forest area. The Division Forest had warned through the notice that if the land is not cleared within the period, the cost of clearing the encroached land as per the prevailing law and the punishment as prescribed in the Forest Act 2076 will be incurred.
The District Administration Office is preparing to write to all eight local levels of Bardiya, including the concerned bodies, for the protection and record management of public land. Assistant Chief District Officer Ashok Bhandari said that he will write to all the concerned bodies on Monday to prepare a plan to remove the encroachment.
