KATHMANDU, Oct 11 — The government’s decision to abolish the Land Problem Settlement Commission has sparked widespread criticism, with land rights activists calling the move unconstitutional and an attack on the rights of landless citizens.
In a press release issued on Friday, the Land Rights and Workers’ Organization Nepal condemned the cabinet’s decision of October 9, labeling it “anti-people” and “a reflection of the government’s capitalist tendencies.”
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“The government has trampled on the constitutional rights of citizens by deciding to dissolve the commission,” said the organization’s President Indra Tamang said in the statement. “This decision discriminates against and dehumanizes around 1.2 million landless, squatter, Dalit and unorganized settlement residents.”
Citing constitutional provisions that guarantee citizens the right to housing, land, food sovereignty and social security, the organization argued that the commission was working to identify, survey and distribute land titles to the landless in accordance with those guarantees. Its dissolution, the statement said, amounts to an “anti-people conspiracy.”
The organization also accused the government of acting under “foreign broker influence,” saying the decision reflects an effort to protect external interests at the cost of national priorities. “Such a move seriously undermines democracy,” the statement added.
Calling for the immediate reinstatement of the commission, Tamang warned that failure to do so would trigger a nationwide protest movement. He said any demonstrations would be “constitutional, peaceful, and democratic,” but cautioned that attempts to suppress them would be strongly resisted.
