Kathmandu, July 17 -- The Supreme Court has directed the government to clear the settlements along the banks of the Bagmati River and its tributaries after ensuring alternative residential arrangements for genuine squatters.

A division bench of justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Binod Sharma has said nobody has the right to occupy public land. However, according to the verdict, those residing on the riverbanks, because of various compulsions, must be relocated to the government-built apartments at Ichangu Narayan on the western rim of Kathmandu and other locations if those facilities are not enough.

"Those unwilling to reside in the property allotted to them must be removed from the encroached areas, and they should get necessary funds...