KATHMANDU, May 18: The Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA), in coordination with the Kathmandu District Administration Office, has blocked the subdivision of around 2,500 ropani of land in various areas of Kathmandu district. The authorities took this step after identifying plots that either lacked official plotting permits or failed to meet the required standards.
The District Administration Office reported that it froze the subdivision process for a total of 1,176 individual land parcels.
Officials at various land revenue offices in Kathmandu confirmed that the KDVA identified and marked the specific plot numbers where the subdivision has been stopped.
The KDVA received reports of rampant illegal plotting being carried out without planning approval, as per the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority Act, 2045 BS. In response, the Authority sent letters to all land revenue offices in Kathmandu and ordered them to freeze land subdivisions, said Kathmandu Chief District Officer Subas Basnet.
The landowners failed to follow key regulations mandated by the Act, including reserving at least five percent of the total plotted land for public use and constructing internal roads at least six meters wide. In some cases, they subdivided land without allocating any open spaces.
Subas Basnet said, "We found that people were carrying out haphazard plotting and randomly subdividing land in the name of plotting. So, we decided to stop illegal plotting to bring all such activities under planning approval and to promote organized settlement and urbanization in the Kathmandu district."
In a letter to the land revenue offices, the KDVA stated, "This office has received complaints that individuals have been illegally subdividing land, operating bulldozers, and marking boundaries without obtaining approval from the Kathmandu District Administration Office under the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority. Therefore, we restated, "We request you to halt the subdivision of such plots under Section 71 of the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority Act, 2045, until further notice, and to inform this Authority accordingly."
The KDVA has found illegal plotting in several areas of former Village Development Committees (VDCs) within Kathmandu district, including Dahachok, Gagalphedi, Kavresthali, Chandeshwari, Pukhulachi, Sangla, Indrawati, Jhor Mahankal, Dharmasthali, Santol, Salkha, and Lapsiphedi. After identifying specific plot numbers involved in the illegal activity, the Authority sent official letters to the respective land revenue offices.
Purna Bahadur KC, Chief of the Kalanki Land Revenue Office, said, "The Kathmandu Valley Development Authority has sent us letters listing the plot numbers where illegal plotting occurred. As soon as we receive those letters, we immediately stop the subdivision process on the specified plots."
Kathmandu Chief District Officer Subas Basnet said anyone planning to subdivide land into multiple plots for commercial purposes must obtain prior approval from the authority. "However," he added, "people do not need such approval for personal or family reasons, such as inheritance or other private purposes."
The KDVA proposed a new rule in its board meeting requiring individuals to obtain permission before subdividing land plots measuring one ropani or more. However, landowners will not need approval to subdivide plots smaller than one ropani.
Kathmandu Chief District Officer Subas Basnet said the board has not yet approved the proposal. He explained that if the board passes it, landowners can subdivide smaller plots without permission but must get approval for larger plots.
Kathmandu currently has six land revenue and survey offices—located in Kalanki, Chabahil, Manmaiju, Dillibazar, Sankhu, and Tokha. The Kathmandu District Administration Office has already sent official letters to all these offices.
In the first week of Magh (mid-January), the KDVA wrote to all land revenue and survey offices in the valley, instructing them that, except for property division, they must obtain permission from the KDVA before subdividing land for commercial purposes. This letter sparked a dispute between the KDVA and the Ministry of Land Management.
In Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May), after the KDVA sent letters naming the plot numbers involved in illegal plotting, the land revenue offices stopped all subdivisions. Basnet explained that the KDVA deployed its personnel to collect information on illegal plotting and has been verifying details with the respective land revenue offices.
Basnet added that the KDVA also asked various national commercial banks, through Nepal Rastra Bank, not to invest in illegal plotting in Kathmandu.