The joint survey will use unmanned aerial vehicles to identify areas where people from either country are cultivating or living on land that falls across the India-Nepal boundary.

India and Nepal Set Three-Year Deadline

India and Nepal have agreed to complete the mapping of land occupied across their shared border within three years, giving fresh momentum to a long-running technical issue affecting communities on both sides.

The exercise will focus on identifying areas where citizens of one country are cultivating or residing on land that technically falls within the territory of the other.

The joint survey is expected to begin after the monsoon, likely in September or October, and will use unmanned aerial vehicles to capture aerial images of affected areas.

UAVs to Map Cross-Border Occupation

The survey will rely on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to create detailed images of areas along the border.

The collected data will then be jointly examined by technical teams from India and Nepal to establish the extent and location of cross-border occupation.

The decision was taken at the 13th meeting of the Survey Officials' Committee (SOC), which concluded in Lucknow on Friday, according to The Kathmandu Post. The meeting also approved an annual work plan and budget for the exercise.

The mapping is intended to provide both countries with a common technical assessment rather than immediately determine ownership of individual plots.

How River Changes Created the Problem

The cross-border land issue is partly linked to changes in river courses along the India-Nepal boundary.

In several riverine sections, the boundary was originally established using the Fixed Boundary Principle. Over time, changes in river channels altered the physical landscape, leaving some parcels of land on the opposite side of the boundary.

Residents have continued cultivating or living on some of these areas, creating practical difficulties for local communities and border authorities.

The issue therefore involves both natural changes in river courses and the historical demarcation of the international boundary.

Nepal Raises Issue of Land Occupation

The matter received renewed attention after Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah told Parliament in May that he had learned that land was being occupied by citizens of both Nepal and India.

Nepal’s Foreign Ministry subsequently clarified that the statement referred to cross-border occupation and use of land, rather than a formal territorial claim by either country.

The two countries had already identified hundreds of hectares where citizens of one country were cultivating or residing on land belonging technically to the other.

The existing records include 182 sets of strip maps signed by India and Nepal in 2007.

Technical Survey to Support Border Management

The Survey Officials' Committee operates under the Boundary Working Group (BWG), which is headed by the survey chiefs of India and Nepal.

Joint Field Survey Teams are responsible for technical work, including examining boundary changes and documenting the condition and location of boundary markers.

The BWG agreed in 2025 to complete technical boundary-related work within three years. The programme includes construction of new boundary pillars and repair of damaged ones.

However, the Susta and Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh areas remain outside the current three-year technical timeline.

Thousands of Boundary Pillars Damaged

India and Nepal share a border of approximately 1,880 kilometres across 27 districts.

According to Nepal's Department of Survey, 8,554 boundary pillars have been installed along the border. Of these, 1,325 are missing, while another 1,956 are partially or completely damaged.

Maintaining and reconstructing these pillars is among the responsibilities of the BWG and its technical teams.

The condition of boundary infrastructure has been one of the practical challenges facing efforts to maintain accurate demarcation along the open India-Nepal border.

Earlier Deadlines Were Missed

The latest three-year target comes after previous attempts to complete technical boundary work failed to meet their deadlines.

A three-year deadline agreed in 2015 was not achieved. A revised target established in 2017 sought completion by 2022, but that deadline was also missed.

Funding constraints, the COVID-19 pandemic, recurring boundary-related disagreements and difficult weather conditions contributed to delays in the technical work.

The new timeline, therefore, represents another attempt to bring greater certainty to a complicated border-management issue.

New Survey Could Improve Border Clarity

The UAV-based mapping exercise is expected to provide both countries with updated visual and technical information about land use and occupation along affected sections of the border.

Rather than relying solely on older maps and ground-level assessments, aerial imagery could help survey teams identify changes in terrain and land use more systematically.

The exercise is also expected to support future discussions between India and Nepal by creating a shared technical record of the situation on the ground.

The renewed push follows efforts to strengthen bilateral mechanisms for border management after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2014 visit to Nepal, when the two sides agreed to establish the Boundary Working Group.

The success of the latest three-year plan will depend on sustained funding, favourable weather, cooperation between field teams and continued political support from both countries.