Kathmandu, March 19

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has been working to identify ‘encroached land areas’ inside the capital.

KMC has directed the ward offices to identify such areas and report it to the office.

“There are encroached land areas in the valley, and the responsibility of identifying such areas has been delegated to the local bodies,” said KMC Spokesman Gyanendra Karki.

Local levels are in better position to investigate ‘encroached land areas’ as they possess expertise in their localities, Karki explained.

The ward offices have been looking into the matter. Such land, when identified, would be allocated for public parks and open spaces, said Karki. “We want to promote greenery in the city. Open spaces are important but very scant. Also, we have realised the importance of open spaces after the 2015 earthquakes,” he added.

KMC, however, does not have any data base on encroached land areas. The ward offices have started to dig in through old records. “Different people, groups and organisations have encroached public land in the capital. Riverside and roadside lands are mostly encroached. We are actively working to reclaim such lands from people and organisations,” added Karki.