SC ruling on leaving additional 20 meters along riverbanks not to be implemented now

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court’s verdict requiring an additional 20 meters of land along riverbanks in Kathmandu Valley to be left as open space will not be implemented immediately.

A joint bench of Justices Prakash Man Singh Raut, Kumar Chudal, and Nityananda Pandey issued an order on Monday after reviewing a petition for reconsideration.

The petition was filed by Secretary Phanindra Gautam on behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, arguing that the earlier decision was flawed and contradictory to legal precedents.

The Supreme Court’s original verdict, issued on December 19 by a bench comprising Justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Binod Sharma, had ruled that an additional 20 meters of open space must be left along rivers like Bagmati and Bishnumati.

The government argued that the directive was issued on matters not explicitly raised in the petition and contradicted existing legal provisions.

Citing these discrepancies, the government requested the Supreme Court to review and reconsider its earlier decision.