KATHMANDU, April 21: Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Mayor Balendra Shah has submitted a written clarification to the High Court, Patan on the issue of landless squatters.
A writ petition was filed at the Patan High Court against four people including Mayor Shah over KMC’s notice to evict ‘landless squatters’. Mayor Shah submitted a written reply to the court, dismissing the charges leveled against him.
While hearing the writ petition against the Kathmandu metropolis, the court on March 31 had issued a short-term interim order not to remove the squatters immediately. A writ petition was filed against the KMC after it issued a notice on March 25, asking the squatters to remove the unauthorized structures built on the riverbanks within seven days.
In his reply, Mayor Shah has urged the court to scrap the writ petition “which deviates the KMC from its responsibility to protect historical, religious and cultural heritage, Newa: Civilization, national property and resources.”
It is said in the written reply, “The intention of the petitioner is questionable as it supports activities prohibited by the law such as taking the law into own hands as per the design of fake squatters, occupying the land of the river, building concrete houses, towers, shutters there without permission, buying and selling land in different levels and using it for rent or commercial purposes, not even allowing the Supreme Court’s order to be implemented, using domestic weapons and explosive materials with criminal intention, not allowing any work of road, sewer construction, sanitation and sewage treatment plant, heritage preservation, urban beautification in the area.”