Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said that the government will provide lands to the landless squatters presently residing in the government-managed facilities.

Responding to a query from lawmaker from the Shram Sanskriti Party Aaren Rai during a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) today, the PM reminded that citizens living in vulnerable settlements along riverbanks in the Kathmandu Valley were evacuated to safer areas.

PM Shah, who was also the former Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolis, reminded the House that he had urged the federal government to relocate such people from riverbanks and place them in holding centers during his tenure as head of the local government. 

Though it was urged to manage lands for the genuine landless across the country, such a call had not been yet addressed, he reminded, pledging to work towards that end. 

"The position of the government and of our party Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is clear that genuine landless and squatters should have access to land. They must have. The squatters living along the riverbanks in the Kathmandu Valley were evacuated as a priority bearing in mind the recurring flooding incidents, sanitation concerns and other pressing issues they were facing. To address these challenges, they were moved to holding centers," the PM explained.