KATHMANDU, Feb 7: A total of 14, 36,400 landless squatters and unorganized settlers have submitted applications with the Landless Commission demanding for land ownership certificates. The commission is preparing to distribute the land ownership certificates to around 150,000 families within two months.

According to Nahendra Khadka, vice-chairman of the National Land Commission (NLC), 13, 50,000 families of squatters and unorganized settlers have applied with the new commission while 80,400 families had previously applied to the old commission seeking land ownership. Khadka also mentioned that the current commission has taken into consideration the requests submitted to the old commission and has incorporated them into its records.

Till date, 22 commissions have been established to address the issue of squatters, but they have not succeeded in resolving the problem.

According to Khadka, out of the applications submitted to the NLC, the petitions of 10, 21,847 families have been registered in the NLC's system. Among them, 81,300 landless Dalits, 156,800 landless squatters and 783,722 families have been identified as unorganized settlers, Khadka said.

Families across the country without land in the name of the family or its members, lacking the ability to purchase land are categorized as squatter families, and slum dwellers, while those residing in public and forest lands for the past 10 years without land ownership certificate are referred to as unorganized settlers.

"If we can proceed with our plan, we are prepared to distribute land ownership certificates to approximately 150,000 families in the next two months," stated Khadka.

Since 2009, various commissions and committees have been formed to address the squatters issue permanently. The NLC, chaired by Keshab Niraula, was formed on September 10, 2021, making it the 22nd commission. According to the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCPA), this commission was established after 21 previous commissions and committees failed to resolve the squatters’ settlement problem.

According to the MoLMCPA, the commissions and committees formed in the name of landless squatters have so far provided 47,000 bighas of government and public land to 150,000 squatter families.

The first land survey commission to address the squatters issue was formed in the year 2009 BS. That commission was headed by Naradamuni Thulung. Since then, it has become a tradition to form the Landless Commission under a new name.

As soon as the leadership of the government changes, the old Landless Commission will be dissolved and a new commission will be formed. During the time of KP Sharma Oli, Devi Gyawali chaired the land related problem resolution commission on March 14, 2020. After the fall of the Oli government, the commission was also dissolved and a new commission was formed.

The government has so far formed 14 squatter-related commissions, three land-related high-level land reform commissions and five land registration and management committees. Since 2009 BS, the government has been trying to systematically provide land to the squatters.

 
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