Illegal leasing of a community forest in Attariya for Rs 10,000 a year

Birendra Bhatta, Dhangadhi:  A contract has been signed for building a private fishery in the community forest of Attariya, Kailali. A community forest in Godawari Municipality-1 Dhangadhi Road has been encroached for building a fishery.

Suraksha Mahila Upabhokta Samuha, Attariya, has given the forest land on lease for five years. According to the law of Nepal no physical structure can be built inside a forest. It also forbids taking a JCB inside a forest under any circumstances.

There is also a provision that the community forest cannot conduct any other activity other than protecting the forest. But the Suraksha Mahila Upabhokta Samuha has leased out 0.125 acre of the forest land to a local, Parvati Rai for five years to build a fishery for Rs 10,000 per year.

The locals of the municipality have been protesting against this action. Three days ago, a JCB was taken inside the forest to dig the soil for the construction of the fishery. Lakshmi Bhandari, president of Suraksha Mahila Upabhokta Samuha, said that the contract was signed three years ago.

But she admitted that the JCB was used only recently to build the fishery. She said that she has leased the forest land to Parvati Rai for five years by charging Rs 10,000 per year. It has been three years since the land was leased out. She said that only two years are left for the lease.

But the Division Forest Office Dhangadhi has claimed that they will not allow the fishery to be constructed in the forest area. Ramchandra Kandel, head of Division Forest Office Dhangadhi, said that he would write a letter to stop this encroachment immediately.

The locals of Attariya have been protesting that the forest area is being destroyed by a JCB. President Bhandari said that the forest area has decreased as one and a half hectares of the forest area is being used by APF. The total area of the forest is 35 hectares, but the locals have been complaining that the forest area is being encroached every year by various organizations and individuals.