BIRATNAGAR – On June 3, 2026, the Ministry of Health and Food Hygiene sent an urgent follow-up letter to 31 hospitals under the federal government, including Koshi Hospital. The essence of the letter was: immediately initiate work to protect and conserve the land and physical infrastructure owned by the hospital, and submit a report within three days.

Following this directive, the file regarding land encroachment at Koshi Hospital—the largest health institution in the province—has been reopened. The road-adjacent portion of the hospital’s land, spread across plot numbers 12, 15, 22, 11, 26, and 23 in Biratnagar-7 (formerly Biratnagar-10), is currently being utilized by various organizations and committees.

The Nepal Red Cross Society, Nepal Tuberculosis Relief Association, Ganesh Mandir Committee, and Devkota Library have erected structures on this land. According to the hospital administration, these entities have built commercial buildings and are collecting rent from more than 30 shutters along an estimated 130.3-meter road frontage belonging to the hospital.

The structure built by the Nepal Red Cross Society

Following the Ministry’s directive, the former Medical Superintendent (MS) of Koshi Hospital, Dr. Ram Narayan Chaudhary, formed a special committee led by Section Officer Trilochan Neupane to investigate the land. A team including surveyors (Amins) from the Land Survey and Land Revenue offices verified the boundaries according to the hospital’s official land records. The hospital administration has already dispatched a detailed report to the Ministry.

Nawaraj Luitel, Public Relations Officer of the hospital, stated, “We completed the boundary demarcation work over two days and submitted the report to the Ministry. Now, the process of removing the structures will move forward under the Ministry’s directives and in coordination with the local administration.”

Who collects how much rent?

According to an internal study conducted by the hospital administration in 2023, the hospital claims that the Nepal Tuberculosis Relief Association occupies 2167.24 square meters of land. The study notes that around Rs 200,000 in monthly rent is collected from the shutters built there.

The administration further states that the Ganesh Mandir Committee, located at Hospital Chowk just south of the hospital, occupies 677.26 square meters of land. It has been found that the committee has constructed shutters alongside the temple, collecting approximately Rs 160,000 in monthly rent.

Commercial structures built by the Ganesh Mandir Committee on hospital land in front of Hospital Chowk.

The Nepal Red Cross Society also has structures covering more than 677.26 square meters of land. The hospital’s study shows that the society generates a monthly income of around Rs 150,000 by leasing the building to the Rastriya Banijya Bank.

Devkota Library has built structures on 846.56 square meters of land. The hospital administration claims that the library has also rented out shutters for commercial purposes.

While these organizations and committees generate income from the hospital’s land, Koshi Hospital itself is under immense pressure due to a lack of land for infrastructure expansion. Among the entities that built structures in this area, the Nepal Tuberculosis Relief Association is the oldest, having constructed its building back in 1959. However, the hospital administration states that over time, structures built under the guise of social service began being used for commercial purposes, hindering the hospital’s development.

According to the hospital, out of the total 156-meter road frontage, no organization or committee holds official land records in their name, except for 16 meters belonging to the Banaskhandi Temple and 9.5 meters belonging to the Nursing College.

Even though the hospital has been barred from utilizing its land, it has been paying the land revenue property tax for years.

According to Public Relations Officer Luitel, the hospital has already deposited 1,057,860 into the government treasury for land revenue spanning from 2019 to June – July 2026.

Former MS of the hospital, Dr. Chaudhary, points out that despite ownership being crystal clear, there has been a stubborn refusal to vacate the land backed by power and influence. He stated that building structures and collecting rent on hospital land is against the law. He added, “That land belongs to the hospital. Whenever we repeatedly followed up, disputes were manufactured. But this time, we will not back down.”

15-Day notice to vacate and

On June 19, Koshi Hospital in Biratnagar issued a public notice giving individuals and organizations 15 days to remove permanent structures built through encroachment and vacate the land.

Dr. Chandrabhal Jha, the current Medical Superintendent of Koshi Hospital, states that if the encroached land is not vacated within 15 days, necessary legal proceedings will be initiated in accordance with prevailing laws.

After the hospital initiated the land-vacating process, the Nepal Tuberculosis Relief Association stated that it cannot move until an alternative is provided. According to the Association’s Secretary, Bhabis Shrestha, the organization has been serving tuberculosis patients from that very location since 1959. “We have been stationed here serving patients since 1959,” Shrestha said. “Even now, 18 tuberculosis patients are admitted daily for free treatment, and 100 patients visit the OPD every day. Unless the government provides us land elsewhere, we are not in a position to leave this place.”

Koshi Hospital administration determining the boundaries of the encroached land using surveyors.

According to Subodh Niraula, Chairman of the Devkota Library, the library has also been at the same location since 1959. “It was established purely for educational and reading purposes,” he said. “So far, we have not received any correspondence regarding removal or vacation from any government body. The building where the library stands spans over two katthas of land and has seven shutters; the library’s expenses are sustained by the rental income derived from them.”

Land crunch for the hospital

Koshi Hospital is currently undergoing a phase of transformation. A 500-bed medical building and a 300-bed super-specialty service building are under construction with billions in investment from the federal government. The hospital desperately needs additional land to operate and expand these structures. The administration laments that due to the land shortage, it has been unable to expand several essential services in a hospital that receives up to 1,800 patients daily.

Mukesh Budhathoki, a former member of the Hospital Development Committee, shares that efforts to reclaim the land utilized by other organizations began back in 2019. “I started this campaign back then, but due to pressure from influential figures, the file could not move forward,” Budhathoki said. “Now, with the direct initiative of the Ministry, the measurement work has been completed. The local administration must not hesitate or falter now.”