Mardhar wetland in ward 8 of Chandrapur Municipality is believed to have spread over 100 bigha (67.73 hectare) of land. However, over the decades, the wetland area shrunk due to human error and poor judgment of the government in allocating public land to individuals during the (pre-1990) Panchayat era.

But currently, the wetland spans around just 20 bigha (1 bigha is 0.68 hectares), a fifth of the original size. According to the Land Revenue Office of Chandrapur, out of the 20 bigha of wetland, 10 bigha is registered in the name of private individuals and the remaining is considered public land.

Chandrapur Municipality, which is working to conserve the wetland given its ecological importance and its role in preserving biodiversity in the area is now preparing to move the Birgunj High Court after its attempt to annul the land registrations of individuals through the Land Revenue Office failed.

On December 6, 2023, the municipality wrote to the Land Revenue Office in Chandrapur to cancel the land registration certificates of the individuals and bring it under the government’s ownership, but the office said it does not have the authority to do so.

According to Dilip Koirala, the legal advisor to the municipality, the land owners have submitted their land registration certificates to the municipality stating that they are lawful owners of the land.

“However, the Ministry of Forests and Environment and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation recognise the Mardhar Wetland as government property and also allocate budgets for its maintenance,” said Koirala. “At first, we requested the Land Revenue Office, Chandrapur, to annul the land ownership certificates, but the office could not do so. Now, we are preparing to file a case in the Birgunj High Court.”

The Ministry of Tourism allocated Rs3.5 million last year to the wetland for the protection and promotion of the wetland. The ministry promotes the area as a tourist spot and has taken responsibility for its upkeep. The district administration office and the municipality also maintain the wetland area and work towards its conservation.

According to the Land Revenue Office, during the time of the then Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation, Hem Bahadur Malla in the late 1980s, the land was registered in the names of private individuals purportedly for the improvement of the forest area in Dhiyal in Makawanpur.

Hemraj Phuyal, chief of the Land Revenue Office, said that 80 bigha of land surrounding the wetland registered in the name of private individuals was also a natural wetland.

“Some public land was allocated to individuals for resettlement on May 28, 1989. According to the old documents, the individuals were given land in Nayabasti in Gujara Municipality (then Rangapur Village Development Committee), but how they were able to possess land ownership certificates for the wetland area is not clear,” he said. “This situation occurred due to the poor judgement of the then-Land Commission.”

Wetlands are considered fertile for agriculture and rich from the point of view of biological diversity. They provide a habitat for several species of wildlife and lie within various ecosystems of high mountains and lowland plains, and are important for conservation of biodiversity.

Wetlands are also crucial in maintaining various sources of underground water, preventing landslides, and controlling the loss of soil nutrients.

According to Nepal's National Wetlands Policy 2012, wetlands generally mean rivers, lakes, reservoirs, forests, and water-logged lands in and around human habitation with a perennial source of water. Wetlands denote perennial water bodies that originate from underground sources of water or rain, so they cannot be owned privately.

Similarly, wetlands are swampy areas with flowing or stagnant fresh or salt water that could be natural, man-made, permanent, or temporary. Wetlands also mean marshy lands, riverine floodplains, lakes, ponds, water storage areas, and agricultural lands.

Sanjaya Kafle, mayor of the municipality, said that it is important to preserve the Mardhar wetland since it is a habitat of several species, and during the winter, is home to several migratory birds.

“It is time to correct the past mistakes. If this mistake is not corrected then the encroachment in the area will not stop,” said Kafle. “There will be no wetland tomorrow.”

The municipality also plans to conduct a scientific study on the areas surrounding the wetland to determine if they were a natural part of the Mardhar wetland, to begin with.

“We all know the Panchayat period was a chaotic time, but now it’s time to correct past mistakes. We should focus on preserving and protecting nature. All stakeholder authorities have been made aware of the current situation,” said Kafle. “We also informed the individuals who have land ownership certificates to surrender the land, but all of them have gone out of contact,” Kafle added.