Kathmandu, October 13
The government has issued ordinances amending land and forest-related laws to address the longstanding problem of landlessness and remove legal obstacles preventing eligible families from obtaining land ownership.
According to Law Minister Sobita Gautam, the ordinances seek to establish a systematic process for identifying genuine landless citizens, improving land records and transferring ownership to eligible families.
Despite decades of government promises, the formation of various commissions and changes in government, many families have remained without legal ownership of the land they occupy.
Gautam said the new provisions aim to address the problem through a process that covers land record correction, eligibility verification and the transfer of ownership.
Under the ordinances, certain plots occupied and cultivated before February 11, 2010, can undergo one-time remapping, provided they are recorded as forest land in government records but are not actually forested.
The identified plots will first be registered in the name of the Government of Nepal. Land-related committees or task forces will then verify applicants’ eligibility, based on recommendations from local governments, before proceeding with land allocation.
Eligible landless families may obtain land for agricultural purposes by paying 7 per cent of its minimum valuation, while those seeking land for residential purposes will be required to pay 12 per cent, Gautam said.
The government may also purchase land to distribute to eligible citizens if suitable land is not otherwise available.
The ordinances also require arrangements for relocating landless families living along riverbanks, within road corridors and in other high-risk areas to safer locations.
Land problem resolution committees and task forces will remain in place until they complete their assigned responsibilities. The provisions also seek to resolve ownership and land record disputes involving plots distributed by previous government commissions.
Gautam clarified that the ordinances do not authorise the indiscriminate distribution of government, public or forest land. Only people identified as genuinely landless and meeting the legal eligibility criteria will qualify for land ownership.
People who began occupying government or public land after February 11, 2010, will not qualify as informal settlers eligible for land allocation solely on the basis of that occupation, she said.
Legal protections for actual forest areas, national parks and public land requiring conservation will remain in force. Gautam said providing land to landless citizens and protecting public property are parallel responsibilities of the state.
The ordinances also expand land-related services available through local governments. Designated services, including land registration, ownership transfers, record updates, registration restrictions and their removal, can now be handled at the local level.
In addition, the provisions clarify procedures for managing river-based materials in buffer zones and operating industries and businesses on privately owned land, subject to environmental assessments and applicable laws.
The government expects the changes to make it easier to identify genuinely landless families, improve land records, transfer ownership to eligible citizens and manage settlements in high-risk areas.
Gautam said the ordinances were introduced to address a land problem that has remained unresolved for generations through a more systematic and long-term legal process.
