HoR Human Rights Committee Monitors Holding Centres for Relocated Squatters

Kathmandu, May 10: The Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives has started monitoring holding centres established for landless squatters relocated from riverbank settlements in the Kathmandu Valley.

The government has been shifting settlements located along rivers and tributaries to safer areas since April 25. Families displaced during the relocation drive are currently being accommodated in temporary holding centres and residential facilities.

As part of the monitoring process, committee members on Saturday inspected holding centres set up at the Nepal Electricity Authority Training Centre and the Agricultural Development Bank Training Centre in Bhaktapur. Committee Chair Samiksha Baskota said the panel would continue visits to other locations in the coming days.

According to Baskota, the committee will assess the condition of the holding centres, review service delivery and management arrangements, and identify areas requiring improvement. The committee plans to hold discussions on the findings before providing recommendations and feedback to the concerned authorities.

During an earlier committee meeting, lawmakers stressed that landless, marginalised, and squatter communities should be treated with dignity and respect in line with constitutional fundamental rights, principles of social justice and international human rights standards.

The committee has also decided to study and facilitate the government’s ongoing work related to collecting integrated digital data of landless people.