KATHMANDU — Cross-border occupation and encroachment on no-man’s-land exist in some areas along Nepal’s border with India. Nepal’s government said so itself in a written response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, though the response does not say where.
The question came from Nepali Congress lawmaker Nishkal Rai. Rai’s question covered the rest of the border, beyond Susta, Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. How many other places had joint Nepal-India teams found facing encroachment or cross-border occupation, he asked, and where were they? He also asked what work had been completed to address the problem outside those four disputed areas.
The ministry’s response, sent to the Parliament Secretariat, did not provide the details Rai asked for. It said mapping of the affected areas was under way through the Nepal-India Boundary Working Group and other mechanisms. It did not give a number of locations, or name them.
The ministry said Nepal and India share a centuries-old open border. The present international boundary is largely established and guided by the Treaty of Sugauli of 1816, it said.
The Boundary Working Group was formed in 2014 to do technical work on border management. Boundary pillars are part of its work: building them, restoring them and keeping them up, along with the technical side of demarcation. Kathmandu hosted the first, on July 15-16, 2015; six more have followed.
The most recent meeting was in New Delhi, on July 28-29, 2025. Both sides agreed there to wrap up the border’s remaining technical work in three years. Kalapani and Susta are not part of that deal.
The ministry restated Nepal’s position in its response. It said the government remains committed to resolving border problems through diplomatic dialogue, based on historical treaties, agreements and maps.
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