Dhading, March 25 -- In the rugged terrain of Maiwang in ward 9 of Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality, Dhading, a Chepang family has spent two generations living beneath a massive boulder. Though the constitution guarantees the right to safe housing, Istaram Chepang, his wife Bikhimaya, their son Subba and daughter-in-law Bishnumaya survive in a cramped, cave-like shelter, tucked on a hill slope at the edge of the forest.

"My father brought me here to work for a local landlord when I was just a child," recalled Istaram, gesturing towards the cold stone ceiling. "Eventually, we moved into this cave for shelter. We stayed and now my son and his wife are growing old here too. This rock is the only home we have ever known," he said.

The fam...