Government has given priority to land management: PM

Speaking at a program organized by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation in Kathmandu today, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba addressed the grievances of the people in the field of land administration and stressed on the need to make the sector clean, automated and transparent.

 Prime Minister Deuba said, “By enhancing good governance in land administration related services, land survey and statistics should be made more qualitative and reliable. There is a need to prioritize the protection and management of land records and old historical records. In this regard, I am happy to learn that the ministry has developed a system to streamline the service flow, modernize the service flow, transact land through online technology, view its own details, and receive services without having to go to the office. We need to make it more robust, systematic and effective.”

 The program was organized for the first time in Nepal on the historic occasion of the centenary of the deed registration of real estate transactions on April 14, 1979. 

 In the context of guaranteeing social justice and equality, the Constitution of Nepal has made a provision to provide land to the landless dalits under the fundamental right. Similarly, the constitution has also ensured access to agricultural land to the farmers, management of landless squatters, freed kamaiyas, haliyas and unorganized settlers.

 Due to inadequate utilization of land, food production has declined and insecurity has increased, while trade deficit has increased unnaturally due to increase in food imports. He said that the issue of providing land for conducting development works and opening of industries and factories was directly related to land and the problems related to it.

 "The effects of climate change have been seen due to lack of improper use of land. It is necessary to manage the uncontrolled fragmentation of arable land, which will lead to uncontrolled urbanization and increase the risk of disasters in settlements, as well as excessive exploitation, misuse and destruction of natural resources,” said Prime Minister Deuba. Stating that the trend of encroachment on government, public, community and guthi lands has increased on various pretexts, he directed all the mechanisms involved in the field of land administration to work more vigilantly to control it.

 Stating that a 'National Land Commission' is being formed across the country to solve the problems of landless squatters, landless dalits and unorganized settlers forever, he clarified that this work is one of the most prior tasks of the joint government. He said that the commission has already started the work of distribution of spare lands by completing the work of identification, verification and registration of landless people in different places. He said that the government has started necessary preparations for the rehabilitation of freed kamaiyas, haliyas, kamlaris and haruvacharuvas who were exempted from identification in the past or deprived of access to facilities even after identification.

On the occasion, former Prime Minister and CPN (Unified Socialist) leader Jhala Nath Khanal stressed on the need to provide effective service to the people by using new technology in land administration and land reform. He pointed out that the work of reform in the land administration sector is still pending and expressed the view that transformation in the administration sector is inevitable as per the constitution and law.

 Minister Shashi Shrestha said that Nepal's land management system has made great strides. She informed that the ministry has implemented land use policy and act for proper management of land and has also launched a people-oriented program. Secretary at the ministry Ram Prasad Thapaliya and former Secretary Gopinath Mainali expressed their views on the need for reforms in the field of land administration and management. The former Minister of Land Reforms, the Secretary and the former Director General of the Survey Department were honored at the program.