Addressing a meeting of Parliament's Agriculture and Water Resources Committee on Friday, Minister for Land Reform and Management, Dal Bahadur Rana, said that the ministry needs at least 890 million rupees to prepare the land-use map of all the 18 earthquake-affected districts and identity places for safer relocation of the settlements vulnerable to landslides during monsoon."We have sufficient experts and technicians to prepare the land-use map of the districts. All we need is money," said Minister Rana after the committee directed the ministry to immediately prepare the land-use plan and take initiatives to relocate the settlements at risk.
He maintained that the ministry cannot make rational changes in the existing land-use plan of the country without mapping land-use in the earthquake-hit districts. "But without money, we cannot carry out the study," reiterated he.
In the meeting, lawmakers had stressed preparing a land-use plan that minimizes loss of lives and properties during natural disasters like earthquake, floods and landslides.
Krishna Dhital, a lawmaker, said as house constructions are likely to take place rapidly as soon as the monsoon gets over, the government should immediately prepare the land-use plan, identify sites for permanent relocation of risky settlements and make necessary amendments to the existing land-use plan and policies.
Uttam Kumar Bhattarai, secretary of Agriculture Ministry, said that the country is losing 5 percent of its agriculture land every ten years in lack of proper implementation of the land-use plan.
Arjun Karki, secretary of Urban Ministry, which has been tasked with relocating settlements, said that a decision on relocation will be taken on July 17 as teams deployed by the government to identify sites are still studying the possibilities.
A week ago, the Urban Ministry and the Ministry of Home Affairs had sent teams from Department of Mines and Geology to identify relocation sites but the teams only studied the risks faced by settlements to be relocated, saying little about where and how they can be relocated.
Related story
Who is right, who is wrong on Nepal-India battle of maps?
