Land mafias would not have dared grab the govt land without a nexus of the politicians, bureaucrats and even justices
With just five days left as per the statutory limitation, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police is all set to file a charge-sheet against more than 300 offenders who were involved in the Lalita Niwas land grab scam since 1990. The CIB has almost completed its investigation into the case and will soon file a charge-sheet against them at the Kathmandu District Court on charges of grabbing the government land by forging documents. The CIB officials have said some of the offenders are high-profile politicians, former ministers and bureaucrats, who have been released on bail. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had also launched a separate investigation against 175 persons on the land grab case, which was initially probed by the former secretary Sarada Prasad Trital-led panel formed by the government three years ago. However, only three small fries, who acted on behalf of the big land mafia, have been arrested so far. All of them have been accused of creating fake government documents to transfer ownership of the government-owned land, where the Prime Minister's and other VIPs residences and Nepal Rastra Bank's central office are located, into private ownership.
Following the Trital-led panel's thorough inquiry into the scam, it came to light that the Lalita Niwas area, occupying 284 ropanis of land, had been transferred into individuals' names. The government had acquired the land from Subarna Shumsher Rana in 2022 B.S. by providing compensation to him and his family as per the Land Acquisition Act 2018 B.S. The Trital panel found that only 14 ropanis and 11 annas of land were seized by the then government, which was returned to the rightful owners following a cabinet decision in 1990.
The remaining 284 ropanis of land were lawfully acquired by the government for public purposes. It seems that the land mafias influenced the successive governments formed since 1990 and got the land transferred into their names even by creating fake tenants even though the existing law has no provision to claim tenancy on government property.
Although the government has nullified the land transactions and got it back into its fold, legal battle in the court will continue for many years to come. Ultimately the land grab scam will reach the Supreme Court from the lower courts for a final decision. However, there is a caveat: will the apex court revoke its three-member full bench verdict, which refused to issue a review petition filed against the verdict of the double bench in 2064 B.S.? The double bench comprising Supreme Court justices Balram KC and Rajendra Prasad Koirala had passed a verdict, stating that the Lalita Niwas land belonged to individuals.
Later, the full bench refused to issue a review on the double bench verdict. The main issue is how the apex court will pass its verdict on the same case when it hears it again after a long interval. So, what can be said is that the land mafias would not have dared grab the government land unless there was a nexus among the politicians, bureaucrats and even the justices of the apex court. Also, how will the apex court set another precedent by revoking the verdict of the full bench comprising three senior-most justices?
Welcome decision
The government's decision to construct disability villages (Apangata Gram) in each of the provinces is most welcome. It is not merely enough to have provisions of welfare for the disabled enshrined in the constitution. The government must swing into action to realise them. The disability villages will have provisions of rehabilitation, skill development, education, health, employment and indoor and outdoor sports. Another positive aspect of the village is that differently-abled persons who have no one to look after them can live there. Nepal is said to have an average disability population of nearly 2 per cent, although such a population in some northern districts of Karnali and Far-West could be upto 4 per cent.
Disability comes in different forms, and some pose a bigger financial burden and stress on family members.
Those suffering from cerebral palsy, for instance, require personal attendance round the clock, which takes away considerable time of the care-giver, namely the mother. Providing facilities, such as buildings, bathrooms and roads, which are disabled-friendly will definitely cost money. But a partnership between the government and NGOs could help raise a good deal of money for the purpose.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 6, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.