POKHARA, May 31: Nearly two years after the Supreme Court (SC) issued a mandamus to enforce regulations for Phewa Lake, authorities have completed only part of the demarcation process. Although the court had directed them to implement the ruling within six months, officials delayed the process and have so far installed only digital boundary markers.
On June 19, 2023, the SC ordered the government to enforce lake conservation standards within six months, including maintaining greenery within the 65-meter boundary of the lake. Three months later, in Asoj (mid-September), the court published the full text of the verdict. According to the ruling, all three levels of government were required to implement the standards and complete the beautification of the lake area by mid-April.
However, nearly two years after the verdict, the SC Verdict Implementation Facilitation Committee for Phewa Lake Conservation-formed under the coordination of Gandaki Province Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey-held a press conference on Friday and announced that they had finished installing digital demarcation poles around the lake.
The committee, which has delayed implementing the Supreme Court's order from the outset, announced that it will start installing physical boundary poles on Saturday. At a press conference, Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey said, "We have finished installing the digital poles, and starting Saturday, we will start installing the physical ones."
The committee stated that Chief Minister Pandey will install the first pole, Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya will install the second, and Kaski Chief District Officer Bharat Raj Pandey will install the third to formally begin the process.
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Chief Minister Pandey asserted that the government will complete the demarcation work for Phewa Lake within the current fiscal year. "We will start the work on Saturday and finish it by mid-July in the fiscal year 2025/26," he said.
The committee has reported that Phewa Lake's size has increased in the latest demarcation. After verifying the lake's water body and the 65-meter buffer zone, the committee determined the total area to be 6.343 square kilometers, or 12,468 ropanis and 3 paisa of land.
Earlier, the committee led by Punyaprasad Paudel had reported the lake's area as just 5.726 square kilometers, or 11,255 ropanis, 11 annas, and 2 paisa. Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya stated that the new findings add 617 square meters-or 1,213 ropanis-of land to the previous report.
Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya said the technical sub-committee, formed under the Supreme Court Verdict Implementation Facilitation Committee for Phewa Lake Conservation, verified the lake's water body and the 65-meter surrounding area. The committee installed 1,055 digital poles in the area and will now replace them with physical boundary poles, he added.
Earlier, the committee used GNSS technology-assisted by GPS and drones—to install 40-centimeter-high underground pillars at 25 key base locations.
Mayor Acharya explained that they determined the 65-meter boundary based on 10 years of records from the Kaski Irrigation Division Office, analysis of various maps of Phewa Lake created over time, and the peak water flow levels observed during last year's heaviest rainfall.
Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey, who coordinates the Supreme Court Verdict Implementation Facilitation Committee for Phewa Lake Conservation, said authorities will study the condition of the lake area and the 65-meter zone after completing the demarcation to finalize compensation matters.
"We are currently studying this issue," he said. "We are determining whether to provide compensation by examining illegally registered lands, registrations before and after 2031 BS, and the status of physical structures."
He clarified that officials will begin compensation work only after completing the demarcation, and that the federal government will handle it. He added that since the Supreme Court assigned compensation responsibility to the federal government and local and provincial governments cannot bear the financial burden, the federal government must manage the process.
"We will maintain the lake area and the 65-meter boundary," he said. "Then, we will start providing compensation for land registered before 2031 BS, involving the federal government in the process."
Chief Minister Pandey said authorities will revoke any land proven to be illegally registered. He added, "We are studying the nature of all lands. We have requested details from the Land Revenue Office and the Survey Department. After receiving and cross-checking these details, we will cancel all land confirmed to be illegally registered." He also said the committee will identify lands eligible for compensation.
Studies show that Phewa Lake's area has continuously decreased from 10 square kilometers in 1961 BS (around 1904 AD). A study in 1974 BS (around 1917 AD) recorded the lake at 6 square kilometers, another in 1995 BS (1938 AD) at 4.43 square kilometers, in 2000 BS (1943 AD) at 4.25 square kilometers, and by 2007 BS (1950 AD) it had shrunk to 4.2 square kilometers.
Based on Bishwo Prakash Lamichhane's report, the SC has ordered officials to maintain Phewa Lake's area at 5.6 square kilometers. The SC also directed authorities to cancel land registrations made after 1974 BS (1957 AD) and compensate owners of land registered before that. Furthermore, it ordered maintaining a 65-meter boundary around the lake, removing structures within that zone, and beautifying the area.
