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Squatting in Nepal occurs when people live on land or in buildings without the valid land ownership certificate (known as a Lal PurJa). The number ofsquatters has increased rapidly since the 1980s, as a result of factors such as internal migration toKathmandu and two decades ofcivil war. Nepal hasenvironmentally protected areas and there have been instances of people being displaced from their homes when they are created. In 1996, the government introduced the National Action Plan, which proposed upgrading informal settlements. Squatters are calledsukumbasi, but the word has negative connotations and is not used by squatters themselves.
Squatting inNepal is the occupation of property without a valid land ownership certificate (known as a Lal PurJa), or renting property when the purported owner does not have the certificate.[1] Poor migrants moving from the countryside to the capitalKathmandu inhabited temples and public buildings up until the 1980s, theninformal settlements appeared from the late 1980s onwards.[2] The squatters had migrated from rural areas and were unable to find other options for housing.[3] There were an estimated 2,000 squatters in the capitalKathmandu in 1985 and three years later the total was 3,700. By 1992, the number was thought to be between 8,000 and 10,000;[1] four years later, the total had risen to 12,000 with 9,000 living in informal settlements and 3,000 in derelict public buildings.[2]
Since theNepalese Civil War began in 1996, people displaced by the conflict have moved to Kathmandu. Occupations first occurred on public land beside rivers and later private land was also seized.[4]: 105, 114 By 2003, Kathmandu had 63 squatter settlements, with between 20,000 and 40,000 inhabitants.[4]: 105 During thestate of emergency from 2001 until 2004, the government evicted squatters from Tin Kune, Shankhamul and Thapathali.[4]: 115 In 2019, according to the Nepal Landless Democratic Union Party, there were 29,000 squatters in theKathmandu Valley living in 73 sites.[5]
Nepal hasenvironmentally protected areas and there have been instances of people being displaced from their homes when they are created. When the Sukla Fata wildlife reserve was enlarged in 1981, 3,000 families were evicted. Whilst some were resettled, many began squatting in the forest nearby. People have also been displaced fromBardiya National Park andChitwan National Park.[6] The Bankariya are an endangeredindigenous people of Nepal, with a population of 93. They have stopped their forest dwelling way of life and live on land leased from the government, but do not possess the Lal PurJa. They are regarded as squatters when they enter their former lands in what is now theParsa National Park.[7][8]
People have also migrated from mountainous regions to theTerai, a lowland area, squatting on the edge of forests, beside rivers and on public land. The Squatters' Problem Solving Commission (SPSC) has attempted to regularize the settlements by providing a land ownership certificate where possible.[3] InSunwal, there are informal settlements at Kerabari, Ramuwapur, Simaltari Charpala, Sirjanatole and Sundarbasti.[3] During theCOVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown resulted in poor squatters who normally earn money from scavenging being unable to feed themselves.[9] In 2022, there were estimated to be 35,000 squatters beside theBagmati River in the Kathmandu Valley.[10] They refused to leave their homes until they were offered security of tenure elsewhere. In 2024, theSupreme Court of Nepal ordered that they must be rehoused and the task was handed to theMinistry of Urban Development and the High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of Bagmati Civilization (HPCIDBC).[11]
In 1996, the government introduced the National Action Plan, which proposed to upgrade informal settlements.[2] Squatters are called "sukumbasi" but the word has negative connotations and thus is not embraced by squatters themselves.[2] Squatters can be occupiers, squatter-landlords who rent out accommodation or squatter-tenants who rent property; as well as being motivated by housing need, squatters can be land speculators or entrepreneurs.[2] TheGovernment of Nepal amended the Land Rules in December 2020 so that all squatters and landlessDalits could receive title to land, subject to certain conditions. The Landless Squatters' Problem Resolution Commission announced urban squatters in the Kathmandu Valley could receive up to 130 m2 (1,400 sq ft) of land and elsewhere in the country up to 340 m2 (3,700 sq ft). In agricultural areas, squatters could be given up to 2,000 m2 (22,000 sq ft) and in the mountains, 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft).[12]
The chairperson of the Commission on Landless Squatters stated in 2021 that all landless squatters would receive ownership certificates within the following eighteen months. It estimated that across the country there were 2.1 million people living without land rights.[13] The following year, an editorial in the national newspaperRepública argued that the issue of housing squatters had become politicised and over 30 years, different commissions had not solved the problem.[10]
