Long-Stalled Rawal Commission Report Set in Motion for Land Recovery

The government has moved forward with the implementation of the Rawal Commission report.

A Cabinet meeting on Friday, June 12, had decided to implement the 1995 report of the ‘High-Level Commission on Government and Public Land Inquiry and Conservation’, commonly known as the Rawal Commission, more than three decades after it was submitted.

The decision paved the way for the recovery of government and public land identified as encroached within the then Kathmandu Municipality area, based on the 1964 cadastral survey.

As part of the implementation process, authorities have begun freezing the transfer of all encroached government and public land listed in the report, ensuring that such properties cannot be sold or transferred under any circumstances.

According to the report, 1,859 ropanis, 14 annas, 3 paisa and 3 dam of public and government land were illegally occupied across 35 wards covered by the study.

The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration has directed the Department of Land Management and Records and the Survey Department to block any sale, transfer or other form of ownership change of the identified land.

An eight-member committee has also been formed to ensure effective implementation of the commission’s recommendations.