Nepal restarts digital verification for displaced squatters

The Nepali government has resumed its digital verification process for displaced squatters and informal settlers residing outside official holding centers. This initiative is a crucial step in the ongoing rehabilitation efforts, following an earlier phase that focused only on those within temporary shelters.

Anand Singh Bhat, executive chair of the High-powered Committee for Integrated Development of Bagmati Civilisation, explained that the current exercise collects detailed personal information from individuals who had previously completed only preliminary registration. The committee has already finished digital verification for 1,488 people in holding centers, out of a recorded 2,608 displaced individuals.

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This is not a new registration drive. It is a re-verification of people who were already on the government's list but have been living outside the holding centres.

"This is not a new registration drive," Bhat stated. "It is a re-verification of people who were already on the government's list but have been living outside the holding centres." Eligible verified individuals will receive an initial lump-sum relief payment of 25,000 Nepali rupees, followed by a monthly housing allowance of 15,000 rupees for up to three months until permanent housing is arranged.

While relief payments have not yet commenced, Bhat confirmed the package's approval and the budget's release. "People staying in the holding centres are expected to receive the relief within the next eight to 10 days," he said. "After that, those currently undergoing verification outside the holding centres and found eligible by the committee will also receive the assistance." The government has also established a new committee to assess squatters and recommend long-term rehabilitation strategies, with data review to be conducted by agencies under the Ministry of Land Management.

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People staying in the holding centres are expected to receive the relief within the next eight to 10 days. After that, those currently undergoing verification outside the holding centres and found eligible by the committee will also receive the assistance.