Nepal lawmakers say border problems persist with India in 15 districts

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s lawmakers have claimed that border problems with India persist in at least 15 districts, and, have demanded a revision of a survey that was prepared and inked during the 2008 visit of then Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The Foreign Relations and Human Rights Committee of Nepal’s interim parliament has released a report based on lawmakers’ visits to the contentious districts, asking the government to reclaim the land it says has been encroached on by India.

About three years ago, a Joint Technical Committee comprising officials from both India and Nepal drew up 182 strip maps, which were to be the foundation of a new Indo-Nepal border.

The committee, according to a report by an Indian daily, said most border disputes had been settled except for two contentious areas - Kalapani on the Indo-Nepal-China border where India has stationed troops since its 1962 war with China, and Susta in western Nawalparasi district where Nepal says there is heavy Indian encroachment.

It was decided that the Kalapani and Susta disputes would be resolved at a political level.

However, despite India’s keenness to have the strip maps formally signed by both sides, Nepal has baulked at doing so. Now the MPs say the strip maps should be revised as they have found iscrepancies in at least 15 more Terai districts, including Rupandehi. (ANI)