Residents and tourists in Pokhara woke up to the sound of excavators on Saturday morning as authorities began demolishing structures built on the banks of Phewa Lake. The operation, carried out under tight security, marks a major step in enforcing a long-pending court order to reclaim encroached lake land.
Teams from the metropolitan office, backed by around 150 personnel from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and municipal police, removed at least 32 structures within the lake’s demarcated boundary. The action follows a 2023 Supreme Court verdict mandating a 65-metre buffer zone around the lake, where all unauthorised construction must be cleared.
Authorities said the demolition was not sudden, noting that multiple notices had been issued over time, including a 15-day ultimatum in February. However, most property owners had failed to comply.
The court ruling forms the legal backbone of the ongoing crackdown. It declared land registered after the 1976 survey as invalid, stating that public land cannot be legally transferred into private ownership. As a result, structures built on such land are not eligible for compensation. Only those with valid titles predating 1976 and consistent tax records qualify for reimbursement.
The move comes after renewed political attention to lake conservation, with Prime Minister Balendra Shah reportedly pushing for swift implementation. A technical committee using drone surveys and advanced mapping has recently redefined the lake’s area at 6.343 square kilometres, larger than earlier estimates.
Despite the legal mandate, the demolition has sparked protests from local residents and business owners, who argue the process is heavy-handed and disruptive to Pokhara’s tourism economy.
Phewa Lake, long affected by encroachment and shifting geography, now stands at the centre of a high-stakes effort to balance environmental restoration with social and economic concerns.