Kathmandu, November 5
Education and Sports Minister Sasmit Pokhrel has claimed that the government has reclaimed around 705 ropanis of Tribhuvan University (TU) land in the Kathmandu Valley. However, a visit to the university campus and accounts from TU staff suggest that the land has not yet been formally returned.
In a lengthy Facebook post on Wednesday evening, Pokhrel wrote that the government had succeeded in reclaiming around 705 ropanis of TU land within six months through continued coordination with the university administration, strong political will and administrative action. Prime Minister Balendra Shah also shared his post.
The minister, however, did not specify which organisations or institutions had vacated the land. His post prompted questions from TU professors and students, many of whom asked where the reclaimed land was located.
On Thursday morning, Onlinekhabar visited the TU campus in Kirtipur, where various organisations and institutions have been using university land. Their offices and facilities were still operating in their existing locations.
A queue of vehicles was waiting to refuel at the petrol station on TU land. The Nepal Premier League was underway at the cricket ground, while Laboratory Secondary School and other organisations remained in place.
We then asked TU Registrar Dr Rabindra Shiwakoti which land had been reclaimed.
“Land has been returned in principle, but the process remains incomplete in practice. Professors, employees, the agriculture and horticulture centre, the nursery and Melamchi Water Supply have sent letters saying they are ready to vacate the land. We still need to send them letters thanking them for agreeing to return it,” he said. “Only the technical formalities remain.”
Shiwakoti said the petrol station had taken longer to relocate because it was situated alongside the road. He added that the university was in the process of reaching agreements concerning the Ayurveda Research Centre, Laboratory Secondary School and the cricket ground.
“We are preparing an agreement to bring Laboratory Secondary School under TU’s Faculty of Education. An agreement will also be reached with the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) regarding the cricket ground,” he said.
However, TU employees say no land has been formally returned in the manner described by the minister and the registrar.
TU’s General Administration Division had issued a 35-day public notice on April 17, asking organisations and institutions occupying university land to vacate it. The university subsequently sent letters to the organisations concerned.
“Among those who received letters from TU, the professors’ and employees’ organisations have sent letters expressing their willingness to return the land. But no official decision has been made formally reclaiming the land,” an employee at the registrar’s office said. “The organisations are still occupying the same locations.”
TU had asked several institutions to vacate university land, including the Cricket Association of Nepal, Laboratory Secondary School, BP Koirala Memorial Planetarium, Agriculture and Horticulture Centre, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited, and the Ayurveda Research and Training Centre.
Other organisations and institutions issued notices included Radha Soami Satsang Beas Nepal, Nepal Professors Association, Tribhuvan University Professors Association, TU Employees Association, Nepal Bank Limited, Global IME Bank, Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh, the Blood Transfusion Centre, Kirtipur Municipality, Nepal Electricity Authority and Kavindra JV.
TU employees say they are also unaware of any land having been formally reclaimed.
“We do not know which land has been returned. All the land belongs to TU, but other institutions have been using it. Their offices are still there,” another employee said. “The land has not been returned as the minister claims.”
The employee said the university had formed a committee to oversee the process of reclaiming its land. Some institutions would need to enter into agreements with TU, while others would have to vacate the land, the employee added.
A report by a committee formed to investigate TU’s land holdings states that around 1,500 ropanis of university-owned land in Kirtipur alone is under the use of various institutions.
In May 2024, a committee led by former government secretary Sharada Prasad Trital was formed to investigate TU’s land holdings. After Trital fell ill, a committee led by former secretary Mahendra Bahadur Thapa continued the investigation and submitted its report to the government led by then prime minister KP Sharma Oli. The report was not made public at the time.
The election government led by Sushila Karki later made the report public. It recommended taking action against those occupying university land and reclaiming the property.
The report also recommended investigations by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority and the Central Investigation Bureau. However, no action has so far been taken against those accused of encroaching on TU land.
TU employees say reclaiming the land has been difficult because many of the occupying institutions are government bodies.
“Government offices themselves are operating on the land. How can TU remove them? The government has to make a decision,” an employee said.
According to the report, several government institutions and other organisations occupy substantial areas of TU land. The BP Koirala Memorial Planetarium, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, uses 150 ropanis, while the Agriculture and Horticulture Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture occupies 281 ropanis. The Ayurveda Research Centre under the Ministry of Health uses 30 ropanis, and the Metropolitan Police Circle occupies four ropanis. The Metropolitan Police Circle in Kalimati uses another ropani. Offices including the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology also use university land.
Other occupants include the water supply institutions, which use 18 ropanis, the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board, which occupies 24 ropanis, and Laboratory Secondary School, which uses 108 ropanis.
Radha Soami Satsang occupies 13 ropanis, the TU Employees Association five ropanis, the Tribhuvan University Professors Association eight ropanis and the Nepal Professors Association 13 ropanis.
Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh uses 10 ropanis, the Blood Transfusion Centre three ropanis and United Builders 10 ropanis. Banks and other organisations also have offices on TU land. The National Innovation Centre, established by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Mahabir Pun, is also located on university property.
In his Facebook post, Pokhrel said the government had been committed from the outset to taking firm action to protect TU’s assets.
“From the very day we assumed responsibility at the ministry, we resolved to take decisive steps to restore Tribhuvan University’s lost prestige and fully protect its property. Reclaiming the university’s land, which had remained neglected and poorly managed for years, was among our top priorities,” he wrote.
The minister also said the reclaimed land would be used entirely in TU’s interests, including for the construction of advanced research centres and educational infrastructure.
