Minister Shrestha told myrepublica.com that he would stake his post for the new commission with executive powers. He said he could not rectify past irregularities and address squatters´ problems without extensive authority. The ministry has drafted a proposal to have it soon approved by the government. It is to be tabled in the next cabinet meeting.
The ministry has been investigating into past and potential cases of embezzlement, while distributing land to squatters. The new commission would comprise 11 members including five political representatives and a chairman employed by the government.
According to the draft, the commission will work for squatters who have been rendered landless due to floods, erosion by river or government acquisition. The squatters would have to prove that they didn´t own a piece of land till the date of CA elections and were included in the voters´ list.
Minister Shrestha says the commission will maintain the up-to-date record of squatters and accordingly proceed with actions giving continuity to the works left incomplete by the previous commissions. The commission will provide different amount of land to the squatters living in urban and rural areas. A family of squatters in a municipality will get 5 dhur (2.2 ana) of land while that in the VDC will be provided 3 kattha (2 ropani).
The commission chairman will enjoy the benefits on par with an assistant minister and five politically appointed members the same as the government officers of the special rank. Primarily, the body will have one year term, which could be extended by six months if considered necessary by the ministry.
The districts where the commission would start working in the first phase are Rautahat, Morang, Saptari, Siraha, Sunsari, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Bara, Parsa, Makawanpur, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Dang and Banke. Also in the list are Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Sindhuli, Udayapur, Surkhet and Kaski.
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