SC issues interim order against removal of squatter settlements

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued an interim order not to demolish settlements built along riverbanks and in public areas.

A division bench of Supreme Court Justices Kumar Regmi and Nityananda Pandey issued the order on Friday.

Gopal Ran Paheli and 11 others had filed a writ petition on April 23 against the planned removal of squatter settlements.

Similarly, senior advocates Dinesh Tripathi and Majid Ansari also filed a writ petition naming the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers as respondents.

The petitions were filed challenging notices issued by the District Administration Office and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to clear squatter settlements along riverbanks in Kathmandu.

The writs demanded that no action be taken to remove, evict or displace landless families living in squatter settlements along riverbanks in Kathmandu Valley and other parts of the country without proper identification, verification and alternative resettlement arrangements.