Nearly 2,400 Ropanis of Tribhuvan University Land Misused or Encroached Upon: Report

A government investigation has revealed that nearly 2,400 ropanis of land belonging to Tribhuvan University (TU) have been misused or encroached upon.

According to the report of the Land and Fixed Property Investigation Committee of Tribhuvan University (2081 BS), made public by the Ministry of Education on Sunday, around 1,000 ropanis of land have gone missing near the university’s main premises, another 1,000 ropanis are under encroachment in other locations, and about 400 ropanis in Lubhu and Pulchowk of Lalitpur have remained unused for years.

The 188-page report concludes that influential individuals have encroached upon hundreds of ropanis of university land. The report has recommended recovery of the university’s encroached land and infrastructure immediately and unconditionally from Kirtipur Municipality, and also instructed it to pay compensation.

The committee blamed official negligence for the failure to protect TU’s land, stating that university officials did not update land records and failed to fulfill their legal duties. The report holds the TU Assembly, the prime minister (as chancellor), and the education minister (as pro-chancellor) accountable for the mismanagement.

The report further points to political collusion behind the misuse of TU’s land.

“The misuse occurred through political collusion. The encroachers were protected, and political pressure, influence, and vested interests dominated the process of land distribution,” the report states. Some university employees were also found responsible for the encroachments.

The committee identified the growing trend of encroaching on public land, along with vague legal and policy provisions, as additional causes of the problem.

It also recommended further investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police into the 108 ropanis of land used by Laboratory School, which the report says the school has been occupying without authorization.

The committee directed that the school management, principal, staff, district education office, and officials of the Ministry of Education who denied that the land belonged to TU be investigated under existing laws. It also advised an inquiry into the Education Ministry’s intervention in allocating TU land to the school, saying the decision appears legally invalid.

The report suggests that the land be returned to Tribhuvan University through a Cabinet decision as soon as possible.

Following reports of large-scale encroachment, the then Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government in May-June 2024 (Jestha 2081 BS) formed an investigation committee led by former secretary Sharad Prasad Trital. The report was initially submitted to former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, whose administration kept it confidential.

The Council of Ministers led by Sushila Karki decided last Thursday to send the report to the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology for implementation.

Committee members included former joint secretaries Mahendra Kumar Thapa and Janaki Ballav Adhikari, and Dr. Prem Sagar Chapagain of Tribhuvan University as an expert member. After Trital fell ill, Thapa led the committee and submitted the report.