468 Hectares of Forest Land Encroached in Parsa District

A total of 468 hectares of forest land in Parsa district has been encroached upon, with locals constructing farms and houses in partnership, community, and religious forest areas. Sunil Kumar Karna, Chief of the Division Forest Office, reported that this encroachment has spread across the district, significantly affecting forest conservation efforts.

“The locals have occupied partnership and religious forests, constructing their farms and houses,” Karna stated. He also highlighted that political support for these encroachments has exacerbated the problem, making it difficult to protect the forests. “A wrong tradition is being developed to defend the encroached forests at the political level,” he added.

According to the Division Forest Office, 468.149 hectares of forest land have been encroached upon in Parsa. The Thori Rural Municipality area alone has seen 200.70 hectares of forest land occupied illegally. In addition, 167.68 hectares of the Gadimai partnership forest and 32.47 hectares in the Madhuban area have also been encroached upon by locals.

Further encroachments include 33.20 hectares of the Sakhuwapasauni partnership forest, 22.23 hectares of the Sabaya partnership forest, and 12.06 hectares of the Vindhvasini partnership forest.

Karna noted that approximately 1,500 houses have been constructed on the encroached forest lands across the district. “We have not been able to carry out regular monitoring and supervision due to a lack of human resources,” he said, adding that efforts are being made to reclaim the encroached forests in coordination with local authorities.