Delay in Implementing the Bhojraj Report: Thousands of Guthi Lands Yet to Be Reclaimed
Summary: In Janakpurdham, approximately 9,846 bighas and 12 katthas of land belonging to 25 Guthis have been encroached upon, and the report addressing this issue has not yet been implemented. A task force formed in 2019 prepared a report to protect the monasteries, temples, and public ponds in Janakpurdham, but the recommendations have yet to be put into action. There are increasing demands for the government to take steps to protect and recover these encroached Guthi lands.
18 Chaitra, Janakpurdham.
The majority of Guthi lands are located within the Janakpurdham marketplace area. Many public lands belonging to Guthis, temples, and Kutties have already been encroached on. The remaining public lands are also under threat of encroachment. The protection and preservation of these remaining public lands in Janakpurdham have not been successful. Thousands of encroached Guthi bighas remain unrecovered.
Two decades ago, the government formed a committee to investigate encroachment of Guthi, monastery, temple, and public pond lands in Janakpurdham, which produced a report that remains unimplemented. Under the direction of the then His Majesty’s Government, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation established a high-level task force led by Bhojraj Ghimire on 26 Shrawan 2062 (2005). The task force’s report concluded that 9,846 bighas and 12 katthas of land belonging to 25 Guthis in Janakpurdham had been encroached upon. The value of these lands has been estimated in billions. The final report also noted that many of these so-called encroached lands had been privatized.
The failure to implement the report has led to the decline of not only the Guthis but also the Janaki Temple and other monasteries, temples, and historic public ponds. According to the report, out of 49 ponds in the municipal area, 5 have completely disappeared, and of the total 82 ponds, approximately 32.8% no longer exist. Many ponds have been filled and replaced with buildings. The land under Janaki Temple has also been found to have been sold unauthorizedly, with mahants of the temple reportedly selling various plots at low prices, according to the report.
In the introduction to the report, coordinator Ghimire expressed hope that the government would implement the task force’s recommendations promptly after submitting the report on 10 Magh 2062 (January 24, 2006). “The suggestions provided in this report are timely and may evolve over time. If implementation is delayed, the importance of the recommendations may change,” he noted. He further added, “I am confident that His Majesty’s Government will move swiftly toward implementing the report’s recommendations.” The report envisioned that with investment through locally proposed religious tourism development programs, Janakpurdham would become a clean, neat, and exemplary municipality within the next ten years. However, two decades have passed since the end of the monarchy and the advent of democracy and a republic, yet the Bhojraj report remains unimplemented.
In Janakpurdham, efforts to free encroached Guthi lands, public lands, ponds, resting places, and to take legal action against encroachers have not succeeded. The government’s failure to implement the report has left citizens disappointed, while land mafias and temple mahants have continued to exploit the situation for years. Advocate Rahul Jha of Janakpurdham states, “Janakpurdham has become the largest Guthi land scandal in the country, with around 9,000 bighas of land encroached.” Two years ago, then Home Minister Ravi Lamichhane promised to take initiative to address Guthi land issues. Now, there are mounting demands for the government to focus on protecting and managing these encroached lands effectively.
