Neten Dorji

Samdrupjongkhar—The temple walls have deep cracks, shattered windows stand open, and the iconic mani dungkhor lies in ruins at the heart of Samdrupjongkhar town.

This is the state of Zangdopelri Lhakhang, along with two double-storey buildings situated on state land in the centre of the town, all due to the prolonged delay in enforcement of court judgment.

On September 20, 2021, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the High Court’s judgment, ordering the Samdrupjongkhar Thromde to compensate Thinley Dorji, the caretaker of the Zangdopelri, Nu 27.987 million.

The SC ordered both parties to enforce the judgment within three months, requiring the caretaker to surrender the properties to the thromde administration, which, in turn, must compensate the caretaker.

Initially, there was a prolonged delay in enforcing the judgment due to a lack of funds with the Thromde. Secondly, Thinley Dorji appealed to the Office of the Gyalpoi Zimpon.

Now, a new problem has arisen—the list of items in the temple submitted to the court does not match the list provided in the judgment.

The thromde administration wrote to the dzongkhag court for clarification on listed items of the temple.

“We are ready with a compensatory amount to enforce the judgment,” Thrompon Thinley Namgay said. “But, considering potential disputes later, we have written to the court to check for any discrepancies in the listed items.”

He said the thromde administration would compensate Thinley Namgay with the help of the dzongkhag court. “We have formed a committee to compensate and will discuss later how we will bring back former glory.”

The government has asked thromde to  adjust capital from the fiscal year where the government will replace the thromde.

While the thromde is waiting to receive a response from the court, the people of Samdrupjongkhar are waiting to carry out renovations and restore former developments to promote the site as a tourist attraction.

“We are still waiting for the office concerned to enforce the judgment,” said Rinzin Wangmo, a regular visitor. “Before the conditions of the Zangdopelri worsen, it is high time to renovate and transform it into a tourist spot. But we are helpless, as we cannot do even small renovations due to unresolved disputes,” she added.

Another visitor, Ugyen Phuntsho, said the temple is crumbling under the weight of age and neglect.

“Elderly people regularly come here to circumambulate the temple, but there is a risk of falling parts that could harm them,” he said. “Moreover, when tourists come, it harms the reputation of Samdrupjongkhar, as well as the country.”

A resident, Sonam Dorji, said people are waiting for the case to close. “Most of them are willing to make a small contribution to bring back the temple,” he said. “Even if the community can’t do it, there are proprietors who are willing to renovate it.”

Other than the temple, the two double-storey buildings are also situated on state land.

There are nine tenants who are renting, with rent payments ranging from Nu 1,500 to Nu 7,000, totalling Nu 54,500 in a month.

Kuensel learned that after the disputes came to light, the tenants did not pay rent either to Thinley Dorji or the thromde. Some had not paid rent for three to four years.

A tenant, Tshering Dorji, said he paid house rent for two years after he rented the ground floor.

“After the owner didn’t do maintenance and there was a shortage of water, I stopped paying him monthly rent,” he said. “Most of the time, we did the maintenance and stayed here.”

He said that most of them didn’t pay rent since the case was in court and no one was collecting from them. “Whoever takes over the house, we can pay the rent.”

The people of Samdrupjongkhar use the Zangdopelri to perform rituals on the 8th, 10th, 15th, 25th, and 30th days of the lunar calendar.

Case background

The dispute began when the National Land Commission (NLC) directed Thinley Dorji to surrender the Zangdopelri land to the thromde, asserting that the land did not belong to him. Thinley Dorji, the main co-ordinator and caretaker of the properties during Zangdopelri’s construction, filed a case against the thromde in 2015 after receiving the NLC’s directive.

The thromde, based on its investigation report, notified Thinley Dorji to surrender the land, claiming it was a state property.

On June 19, 2018, the court ordered the thromde to compensate Thinley Dorji Nu 27.987 million for expenses incurred during the construction of Zangdopelri, two buildings, a butter lamp house, and land tax, while requiring him to surrender the state land and properties.

The court has also ordered Thinley Dorji to surrender 44,072sq.ft land with Zangdopelri and two double-storey buildings to the thromde.

Dissatisfied, the thromde appealed to the High Court (HC), arguing that there was no need to compensate Thinley Dorji as the land belonged to the State and should be transferred to the thromde. However, the HC upheld the lower court’s decision. Both parties then appealed to the Supreme Court.

Thinley Dorji appealed, contesting the order to hand over the properties, given his long-term care of the site. The thromde argued that Zangdopelri was built in the 1980s under the special culture committee and the home minister’s order for public use, not private ownership, with no mention of transferring land ownership to Thinley Dorji.