Commission begins efforts to resolve issues of families displaced by Shuklaphanta national park expansion

Kanchanpur: The commission formed to address the problems of families displaced during the expansion of Shuklaphanta National Park has commenced its work. Newly appointed commission chairman, former judge Jayanand Paneru, visited the Dhaka camp, where displaced families are residing, to gather preliminary information.

Paneru engaged with officials of the Park Victims' Struggle Committee, collecting opinions to help resolve the displacement issue. He stated that the commission will review reports from previous commissions and submit its findings to the Government of Nepal within three months. The report will include observations from on-site visits, discussions with affected families, representatives, and former commission officials, along with recommendations for rehabilitation and compensation.

Gobind Nepali, Secretary of the Park Victims' Struggle Committee, urged that the real displaced families should be verified and rehabilitated, while demanding the restoration of previously selected damaged forest land. Surya Bahadur Pandey, former Warden of Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, suggested that the land occupied by displaced families during earlier movements should be measured, restored, and distributed to them, while the remaining families should be compensated.

More than 600 families displaced by the park's expansion are currently living in camps. Chairman Paneru also met separately with Sudurpaschim Provincial Assembly member Diwan Singh Bista, Chairman of Beldandi Rural Municipality Harishchandra Rana, and other local representatives to discuss the issue further.