More interestingly, ownership of the encroached land appears to have been transferred to the encroachers.[break]
The report was submitted to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai by the Fewa Lake Probe Committee on Friday.
According to the report, the encroachment has carved off a total of 2,232 ropanis from the lake, and almost all of that has been put under cultivated.
Fewa Lake, which is the main attraction of the touristic city of Pokhara, has now shrunk to around 10,000 ropanis, thanks to natural and human factors.
The lake includes wet-lands measuring 622 ropanis. Around 165 ropanis of lake land owned by the government has been registered under personal ownership.
The report suggests the government stop the encroachment immediately and retrieve more than 1,600 ropanis of the encroached land without any compensation. Over 500 ropanis are worth retrieving after providing due compensation to those concerned, the report says.
“The expanse of the lake could shortly be increased by 3,000 ropanis,” said Lamichhane. “We have gotten commitments from the prime minister to implement our suggestions.”
The government formed the probe committee in February as the lake was gradually shrinking due to encroachment.
It is estimated that the lake alone earns around Rs. 3.5 billions annually from tourists visiting the picturesque city.
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