Police Academy to Remain in Maharajgunj as Land Will Not Be Transferred to President’s Office
Summary: After careful review and editorial evaluation, the Cabinet has decided not to allocate the Maharajgunj Police Academy land to the President’s Office. Instead, the land will continue to be used by the Nepal Police Training Academy as before. The Police Academy’s relocation attempt to Panauti was stalled due to forged land documents leading to lawsuits and government intervention to nationalize the land. Though the existing Maharajgunj Academy will remain, a new training facility is under construction in Panauti.
Kathmandu, April 23: Efforts to relocate the Nepal Police Training Academy from Maharajgunj to Panauti in Kavre, to provide additional facilities for the President’s Office, have failed. In a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, the government reversed its earlier decision to transfer the Maharajgunj Police Academy land to the President’s Office. Previously, on September 6, 2018 (21 Bhadra 2075 BS), the Cabinet had resolved to hand over the 114 ropani 3 anna land to the President’s Office. However, the latest resolution states that instead of transferring the land to the President’s name, the entire property will continue to be used by the Police Training Academy.
The initial plan to move the Police Academy to Panauti with helicopter facilities was devised due to the limited space and accessibility constraints at the President’s residence, Sheetal Niwas. However, following objections from former police officials stressing the historic significance of the Maharajgunj site, the decision was postponed for a long time until the government recently finalized the reversal.
A new Police Academy is currently being constructed in Panauti. However, the relocation stalled because forged documentation related to government land in Panauti surfaced. Some locals had allegedly transferred the land in their name illegally, causing the project to be held up. Subsequently, the government launched an investigation, nationalized the land, and filed cases against those involved in the forgery.
Initially, the government had decided on July 31, 1995 (15 Shrawan 2052 BS) to allocate forest land in Kavre’s Sunthan area to the Nepal Police Training Academy. Since name registration had not been completed, the land was allowed only for usufruct use. Later, when local resident Puskar Bahadur Basnet attempted to register the land in his name, a case was filed against him. He was charged on December 12, 2023 (27 Mangsir 2080 BS), found guilty in January 2025 (Magh 2081 BS), but the Supreme Court quashed the case against him on January 6, 2024 (23 Magh 2080 BS).
An additional lawsuit was filed by seven individuals, including Santosh Sapkota from Panauti-11, claiming they had sold their share of land to the Police Training Academy without receiving payment. While district and appellate courts ruled in their favor, the Supreme Court ultimately declared on September 26, 2023 (9 Aswin 2080 BS) that the land belongs to the Police Training Academy.
Due to the nationalization of the Panauti land registered under individuals’ names, the earlier government decided to relocate the Maharajgunj Police Academy to Panauti and hand over the Maharajgunj land to the President’s Office. Despite this, the Maharajgunj Academy has not yet been shifted. Meanwhile, new structures and facilities are being built at the Panauti training institute.
The latest Cabinet decision confirms that the Nepal Police Training Academy will remain operational in Maharajgunj, while a new Police Training Academy will be established in Panauti.