KATHMANDU, May 13: Tribhuvan University (TU) has appealed to the government for assistance in reclaiming the university’s land that has been encroached upon by various people and agencies.
During a session with the Education and Health Committee of the House of Representatives on Sunday, TU Registrar, Prof Dr Kedar Rijal, said there is a need for government intervention to address the issue of university land being utilized by various government agencies.
"This issue cannot be resolved solely with the limited resources, capabilities, and authority of TU. Therefore, TU earnestly requests the highest level of government to address this matter, as was done in the case of Baluwatar. Certain structures cannot be safeguarded without political attention," Registrar Rijal said.
According to him, not only the private sector, but also various agencies of the Nepal government are occupying the land belonging to the university. Registrar Rijal said that 60 plots are being used in the name of Republican Memorial, 150 plots are being used by BP Koirala Memorial Planetarium, Observatory and Science Museum, and 281 plots are being used by the Temperate Horticulture Center under the Ministry of Agriculture.
In Kirtipur of Kathmandu alone, out of the 3,307 plots of the university, about 1,000 plots of land have been encroached upon, according to the General Administration Division of the TU.
According to the report of the TU's Committee of Land Identification and Evaluation, formed in the year 2074 BS under the coordination of Prof Anup Kumar, TU owns about 14,788,752 square meters of land with, 1,336,931.53 square meters fully owned.
Registrar Rijal said that it is challenging to reclaim 125 ropanis of TU land in Naikap Naya Bhanjyang area of Kalanki-Thankot road section in Chandragiri Municipality.
Rijal said that just as the government formed a committee to investigate the land encroachment of Lalita Niwas in Baluwatar, a committee should also be formed to investigate the encroachment of TU land, too.