National
Writ filed against forest encroachment in Banke
A writ petition has been filed at the Appellate Court, Nepalgunj, to put an end to the rampant encroachment of forest areas beyond Rapti River in the name of flood victims.The petition states that the increasing encroachment of forest lands and illegal sand and stone mining had an adverse impact on the environment, increasing the threat of natural disasters.
The petition has held Citizen’s Embankment Programme, District Natural Disaster Relief Committee, District Forest Office, Area and Rector Forest Office, District Administration Office, District Police Office along with 14 other government offices as its opposition.
More than a dozen forests beyond Rapti River have been encroached upon in the name of flood victims. And though there are over a hundred
temporary structures built in the forest, the officials of community forest and DFO have not been able to evict them. Illegal sand and stone mining from rivers and streams in community forests in Baijapur and Phattehpur has also gone unabated.