Itahari: Krishna Narayan Palikhe is a former deputy mayor of Dharan. However, he is widely known as watershed conservationist of Dharan. His drives and campaigns to save Sardu Jaladhar (watershed) from land mafias have given him both risks and reputations.
Since the 52-kilometer-long Dharan- Dhankuta was build after 1979, the Sardu watershed, located between Dharan and Bhedetar, was intersected.
The watershed area was crowded by vehicles. Along with vehicles came land mafias. They pinpointed a legal loophole that few hectors of watershed area was not transferred from people to the state.
During Panchyat era, king Birendra has directed to relocate human settlement of Sardu watershed area giving equivalent land in Morang.
In order to conserve the natural water sources of Dharan, king had directed all concerned to relocate the 209 families of Sardu watershed area. 243 Bighas of land were alloted and transferred to relocated families by government.
Government transferred land to the transferred families of 209 without transferring their land ownership to Sardu watershed. And, this loophole was misused by land mafias.
Mafias colluded with officials of District Land Revenue Office of Sunsari and started to sell watershed land plot by plot. Former deputy mayor and social activist Krishna Narayan Palikhe was informed of this misdeed. And, Palikhe started doing everything his social organization named People's Concern Forum Nepal could.
Palikhe collected all documents and details of 209 families. He collected documents of the land given by government to these families. He was threatened multiple times by goons financed by mafias while collecting such details.
His office was vandalized once and padlocked for 6 months. Not only this, he was blocked from appearing in front of appellate court. '6 buses of goons were there to block our way to court and we couldn't fight our legal battle', says Palikhe. He adds, 'the court gave decision in favor of all mafias involved in Sadu watershed citing our absence.'
Palikhe moved to the Ministry of Soil Conservation and Land Management in 2015. The secretary of the ministry Shankar Adhikari made secretary-level decision and circulated this decision to land revenue offices of Sunsari asking to cease buying and selling of land of Sardu watershed on 3rd July, 2015.
This secretary-level decision was overturned by minister-level decision on 27 April, 2016. Minister Agni Sapkota made this decision under the influence of the then local Maoist leaders of Dharan, says Palikhe.
Palikhe and his fellow conservationists are further saddened by the Supreme Court ruling of 31st. March, 2011. In this ruling supreme court has allowed 42 Bighas of land of Sardu watershed can be used by people.
'Supreme court must have seriously studied background that all petitioners were given land after being relocated in Morang from Sardu watershed area in Panchyat time.'
According to Palikhe, around 362 Bigas of land is not officially transferred from people to Sardu watershed area even after relocated families got their own land. 'We are not for encroaching personal properties for Sardu watershed area', says Palikhe, 'but, the mafias can't encroach already compensated land of Sardu watershed.'
Palikhe cites IUCN report and says, 'Sardu can produce 42 MLT of waters in dry season and 98 MLT of waters in rainy seasons. This is enough for Dharan.'
Palikhe says either federal cabinet or Supreme Court's final ruling can stop Dharan from becoming desert by destroying watershed areas by human encroachments.
Source: hakahakionline
