In case the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) decides to legitimise illegal buildings in the capital as some reports have it, it would be no exaggeration to say that by doing so, the metropolitan authority would be stirring a hornet’s nest. Granting the tag of legitimacy to buildings which have been constructed illegally not only will kick off a controversy, but will also encourage the unscrupulous to follow suit in the hope that they will one day come out clean. It may as well be said that to give a clean chit to such blatant violators of the law is to openly legalise offence. Majority of the houses tagged illegal by the KMC have either been built upon encroached land or are in contravention of the building codes, not to mention the denial of official go-ahead. If some have gone on to use the road space, others have extended their courtyards right inside the premises of adjacent temples and public places. True, it might be difficult to deal with the issue, but the ramifications of formalising these houses as legal ones are far-reaching. When viewed against the backdrop of the KMC not having the exact details of all the individual houses inside the metropolis, how will it, for instance, be sure about not offending the aggrieved further by legitimising the encroacher’s misdeeds? It is a complex issue requiring the mayor to think twice before nodding his head in approval.

If the rumour that impending local elections is the catalytic factor in mooting this drastic move is to be believed, then the whole idea behind it will be viewed as an attempt to make hay in the absence of elected representatives in the wards. While levying hefty fines in the process might earn the KMC some financial reprieve to overcome the resource crunch, that it has to go to this length to earn revenue shocks one and all. Nor will the house owners whose properties were razed to the ground see justice in the KMC declaring illegal houses as legal. Considering the estimate that as many as 50 per cent of the 180,000-odd houses have been constructed through illegal means, the sheer enormity of the problem will turn out to be vexed and indeed too convoluted to circumvent. Who will take the responsibility if faulty structures collapsed, causing damage to life and property? In other words, what is being planned would be to put lives of hundreds of thousands of people in danger. This will also be a setback to those who have been advocating safe building codes. Besides being unfair to those who have so far respected the law, it would also be harmful from the standpoint of the KMC itself. The recommendation team formed to study this issue will have to be extremely objective before tabling its suggestions.