4.1 KUSUM KHOLA, MADI MUNICIPALITY, CHITWAN DISTRICT – 18 JULY 2020 Location: Ward 9 of Madi municipality, Chitwan district Date: 18 July 2020 Authority responsible: Chitwan National Park Number of families evicted: 10 Eviction notice/due process: No Compensation: No Relocation: 2025, flood-prone land, tents Official rationale: Wildlife conservation The Kusum Khola settlement lies in a remote part of the Madi municipality in Chitwan district. It is mostly inhabited by landless people, particularly people displaced by floods and landslides across the country, including people from Tanahun, Dhading, Makawanpur and the hilly regions of Chitwan, who have been living there since 1992.36 In addition, there are members of Indigenous communities, including the Chepang, Bote, Tamang, Bhujel and Majhi peoples, who were first evicted from their homes in this region to make way for the Chitwan National Park when it was established in 1973.37 Four years ago, 160 families reportedly lived in the Kusum Khola settlement.38 The municipality claims that, in the last two years, it has resettled most of these landless families to other locations, building a total of 192 houses for the resettled families.39 The authorities have resettled landless families from the Kusum Khola area to Pyuli, Thori, Raidanda, Paruikhola and Shivadurbar. Almost all the families living in Kusum Khola went to the relocated areas.40 Ten families belonging to the Chepang Indigenous People remained in Kusum Khola pending an offer for resettlement by the municipality.41 On 18 July 2020, staff from the Office of the Chitwan National Park42 burned down two of their houses and destroyed eight others using hordes of elephants, all in the name of wildlife conservation.43 No formal eviction notice was issued and no due process was followed.44 Instead, the families were verbally threatened and ordered to leave within a week.45

The eviction left the families without housing, compensation or resettlement option. Although a building project had been initiated by the municipality in Krishna Nagar and Gaurigau, Bareilly, in Ward 7, it had been obstructed by the national park authorities prior to the July 2020 eviction, leaving the 10 affected families with no alternative but to remain in Kusum Khola.46 No financial compensation was provided to these families, only land to live on, which the municipality had allocated in unsuitable areas such as the riverbanks.47 The resettlement of these 10 families took place between March and April 2025; the families are living in makeshift tents and are in a “sorry state”, as described by an official Amnesty International spoke to.48 The resettlement locations are highly vulnerable to hazards such as flash floods. Although not specifically documented by Amnesty International, it must be noted that again, on 27 March 2022, around 100 members of the Chepang community, who had stayed or returned to Kusum Khola and were living in around 20 huts in Kusum Khola were displaced and 15 huts were burnt down.49

36 Kathmandu Post, “Chitwan National Park once again sets settlers’ huts ablaze”, 29 March 2022, https://kathmandupost.com/province-no 3/2022/03/29/chitwan-national-park-once-again-sets-settlers-huts-ablaze 37 Mongabay, “Razing of Indigenous hamlet highlights Nepal’s conservation challenge”, 7 April 2022, https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/razing of-indigenous-hamlet-highlights-nepals-conservation-challenge/ 38 Dev Kumar Sunuwar, “Chepang families still waiting for housing after conservation officials burned down their homes in Nepal”, 4 November 2020, Cultural Survival, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/chepang-families-still-waiting-housing-after-conservation-officials-burned-down-their homes 39 Kathmandu Post, Chitwan National Park once again sets settlers’ huts ablaze”, 29 March 2022, https://kathmandupost.com/province-no 3/2022/03/29/chitwan-national-park-once-again-sets-settlers-huts-ablaze 40 Kathmandu Post, Chitwan National Park once again sets settlers’ huts ablaze”, 29 March 2022, https://kathmandupost.com/province-no 3/2022/03/29/chitwan-national-park-once-again-sets-settlers-huts-ablaze 41 Kathmandu Post, Chitwan National Park once again sets settlers’ huts ablaze”, 29 March 2022https://kathmandupost.com/province-no 3/2022/03/29/chitwan-national-park-once-again-sets-settlers-huts-ablaze 42 https://chitwannationalpark.gov.np/ 43 Dev Kumar Sunuwar, “Chepang families still waiting for housing after conservation officials burned down their homes in Nepal”, 4 November 2020, Cultural Survival, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/chepang-families-still-waiting-housing-after-conservation-officials-burned-down-their homes 44 Dev Kumar Sunuwar, “Violence against Chepang peoples in Nepal sparks outrage at National Park Authorities and Conservation Movement”, 4 August 2020, Cultural Survival, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/violence-against-chepang-peoples-nepal-sparks-outrage-national-park authorities-and/ 45 In-person conversation with Bina Budhacharya, Bimala Tamang, Bhagawati Adhikari and Sabitri Khadka, housing rights activists affiliated with Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj, February 20, 2023.46 In-person conversation with Bina Budhacharya, Bimala Tamang, Bhagawati Adhikari and Sabitri Khadka, housing rights activists affiliated with Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj, February 20, 2023. See also, Chepang Families Still Waiting for Housing After Conservation Officials Burned Down Their Homes in Nepal | Cultural Survival. 47 Interview by voice call with Ganga Bhandari, Ward Secretary of Ward 9, Madi municipality, May 15, 2025. 48 Interview by voice call with Ganga Bhandari, Ward Secretary of Ward 9, Madi municipality, May 15, 2025. 49 Mongabay, “Razing of Indigenous hamlet highlights Nepal’s conservation challenge”, 7 April 2022, https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/razing of-indigenous-hamlet-highlights-nepals-conservation-challenge/

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