Although police freed them shortly, Acharya and KC, along with nine other local persons, refused to walk out of the office of Metropolitan Police Circle (MPC) in Anamnagar until Saturday evening, seeking the government to clarify its stance on people´s right to property. [break]
According to Ratna Raj Pandey, Chief District Officer (CDO) of Kathmandu, the arrested leaders returned home at around 7 pm only after Minister for Physical Planning and Works Hridayesh Tripathi promised to organize a meeting of lawmakers from all constituencies in the Kathmandu valley to take a political decision on the demolition drive.
“We had not arrested them,” argues CDO Pandey. “We simply took Acharya and KC away from where they were leading a group of locals to prevent government officials from widening a road section. Later, when we asked them to go home, they refused. They even refused to discuss their demands with us. They wanted to discuss their demands at the political level. Therefore, minister had to come.”
Acharya, talking to Republica from the police office, said that they were not against the road expansion drive but the government must provide “satisfactory compensation” to those whose houses get demolished.
“Ours is an ideological struggle,” said Acharya. “We believe that the government should not forcibly take away an individual´s property. And those whose houses get demolished must be adequately compensated. The government should clearly state its view on the issue.”
Dr Bhaikaji Tiwari, Chief Urban Planner at Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee (KVTDC), which has been leading the valley road expansion drive in cooperation with the Department of Roads (DoR) and Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (KMTPD) said, “Town Development Act-2045 has allowed us to set standards for roads in the valley. And if any one builds house by violating the standards, we are allowed to demolish it. Our leaders who are writing the constitution should be aware of this.”
Dr Tiwari adds, “As per the act, we can even make people bear the cost of demolition if their houses are illegally built. We have not asked for the demolition fees so far. There is no point in providing compensation for houses built illegally.”
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