Supreme Court Issues Show Cause Order on Eviction of Riverside Squatter Settlements in Kathmandu

The Supreme Court has issued a show cause order in response to a petition filed concerning the eviction of squatter settlements residing along the riversides and public spaces in Kathmandu. A single bench of Justice Shanti Singh Thapa has directed the District Administration Office of Kathmandu and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to submit written responses.

According to Supreme Court spokesperson Arjun Prasad Koirala, both parties have been summoned for a hearing scheduled on Baisakh 22 (approximately early May). The petition, filed on Baisakh 11 by Gopal Ran and ten others, challenges the planned eviction of these squatter settlements.

The writ petition was filed following notices issued by the District Administration Office and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to clear the squatter settlements along the riverbanks. The petition requests that no landless families living in squatter settlements across the Kathmandu Valley or elsewhere in the country be evicted, removed, displaced, or forcibly subjected to any action without proper identification, verification, and provision of alternative arrangements.