Kathmandu. Lawmakers have expressed apprehension that some provisions of the Bill- 2082 BS, which seeks to amend some Nepal Acts relating to land, will lead to the transfer of government and public land in the hands of land mafia and middlemen in the name of landless and slum dwellers.
Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Balram Adhikari had tabled a proposal in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives seeking consideration of the Bill to amend some Nepal Acts related to land, 2082 BS.
During the in-principle discussion on the bill, the lawmakers opined that fragmentation of land and rampant distribution could flourish.
Lawmaker Ashok Chaudhary claimed that the bill was brought to manage the landless and slum dwellers, but the issues proposed in the bill could not address the socio-economic condition of Nepal.
Similarly, he said that the law should be able to guarantee to prevent the past bad practice of encroaching on community forests, public land and protected areas in the name of landless and slum dwellers.
Lawmaker Roshan Karki said that some of the provisions made in the land bill have plenty of room to doubt the intentions of the government. According to him, the provision of the bill has raised doubts about the past style of distributing land to cadres in the name of slum dwellers and selling land beyond the limit for residential and commercial purposes.
Lawmaker Bimala Subedi recalled that the government tried to bring the land bill through an ordinance but it was withdrawn after opposition. Subedi said that the provisions in the bill are intended to encourage fragmentation of agricultural land in the name of real estate business and grab public land.
Lawmaker Chitra Bahadur KC said the concept of land bank in the bill has the potential to take away the right of farmers to cultivate independently. He expressed concern that the provisions of the bill would increase the tendency of plotting fertile agricultural land.
Lawmaker Sher Bahadur Kunwar said although all political parties had assured the people during the election that they would give land to the landless and slum dwellers, they could not guarantee it.
Stating that doubts had been raised when the bill was brought through an ordinance earlier, he said that the bill was brought again without amending any provisions contained in the ordinance amidst apprehensions. Similarly, no Nepali citizen should be made landless, he added.
Lawmaker Abdul Khan said that many citizens are facing problems due to lack of land and said that this bill will be important to manage unorganized settlements. Stating that it was the responsibility of the state to provide land to the poor, he stressed the need to move ahead as per the spirit and spirit of the constitution.
He also suggested that a policy should be brought to shift settlements from the Tarai to the hills and cultivate agricultural land in the Terai. He said that it was necessary to establish integrated settlements in the hills and commercial farming in the Terai.
Lawmaker Basudev Ghimire said that the problem has not been resolved so far as the government had promised to provide land to the disorganized residents and landless people during the elections. He stressed on the need to take initiatives to address the landless and squatters by enacting this law at the earliest. He alleged that rumours were being spread that encroachment of public areas, forests and parks would increase.
Similarly, Lawmaker Maina Karki said that the new land-related law was necessary for its implementation as the constitution itself provides that every citizen has the right to housing. Thakur Gaire said that the bill is important to ensure the right to land and housing of every citizen and to make the use of land more systematic for the protection of land, occupation and prosperity of the country.
During the theoretical discussion on the bill, lawmaker Kiran Kumar Sah said that land was not only a means of production but also related to livelihood and social security. He said the bill seeks to give legal recognition to landless, squatters and unorganized people.
The bill has been brought by the government stating that it is necessary to provide land to dalits and landless people for the implementation of fundamental rights, directive principles of the state, state policies as per the constitutional provisions and to manage the unorganized people living in the state through law.
The government claims that the bill has been brought to provide legal provisions to landless Dalits, slum dwellers and disorganized dwellers in the place where they live and inhabit, discourage fragmentation of land and encourage systematic settlement.
Similarly, the new Land Act is necessary as there is a need for regulation to facilitate the sale of land purchased by the real estate entrepreneurs with the permission of the government and to manage the land in the name of the government.
The bill is also necessary to make legal provisions for the construction and sale of houses or housing units (apartments) by developing land within the prescribed limit by a company that has obtained permission to do real estate business.
According to the government, it is necessary to bring this bill to facilitate the companies that have obtained permission to do real estate business and to make the legal system regarding the provision of land to landless Dalits, landless squatters and disorganized dwellers in a timely manner.
In today’s meeting of the House of Representatives, Chairman of the Infrastructure Development Committee Deepak Bahadur Singh presented the annual report of the Infrastructure Development Committee- 2081 BS. Presenting the report, President Singh said that the report has been prepared and submitted by incorporating the activities carried out by the committee from April to Mid-April 2081 BS.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्