PYUTHAN, June 13: Swargadwari Ashram, which has already lost about 1000 bigaha of land, is likely to lose the remaining 1,050 bigaha if the Guthi bill tabled at the National Assembly gets parliamentary nod.
Of the total land currently registered in the name of temple, the land mafia has already been using 300 bigahas of land in different places of Dang. “The ashram will lose more land if the Guthi bill registered at parliament is endorsed as proposed,” said Hari Adhikari, administrative chief of the ashram.
In the past, the ashram owned nearly 2000 bigaha of land in Pyuthan and Dang. Its land, however, has now shrunk to 1050 bigahas.
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Currently, various people have been using 736 bigahas of the ashram land. The ashram has 72 bigaha in Tarigaun, 95 bigaha in Saudiyar, 76 bigaha in Rampur, 380 bigaha in Chailahi, 96 bigaha in Satbariya and 190 bigaha in Ghorahi.
But the land users have not paid any rent to the ashram. The ashram is using 40 bigaha of its land. Likewise, a group of unidentified users have been using about 300 bigahas of the ashram's land.
“Most of the land belonging to the ashram in Anarwamauja of Lamahi has been encroached,” said Adhikari adding, “About 800 bigahas has been encroached in Anarwamauja and Rampur.”
Locals have already constructed a huge buildings on the encroached land. Now the ashram has land on paper only while its land is being openly traded by the locals, Adhikari said.
“Although police and court officials had earlier attempted to demolish the houses constructed on illegal land, they could not demolish the houses as the encroachers have backing from politicians,” he said.
