Landless Sukumbasi and Informal Residents Present in All Wards of Hetauda Amid Lack of Accurate Data in Sub-Metropolitan City

There are 210 landless Dalits, 1,743 landless Sukumbasi, and 3,790 informal residents spread across all 19 wards of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City. The Land Problem Resolution Commission, which collected over 12,000 applications in 2020 and 2021, has been unable to enter these records due to a shortage of personnel and inadequate documentation. The sub-metropolitan city has not prioritized land management, and a lack of staff continuity has led to challenges in data collection and record keeping. (16 Baisakh, Hetauda)

According to data collected by the commission established by the federal government to address landlessness among the Sukumbasi community and an internal survey by the sub-metropolitan land management division, landless Sukumbasi and informal residents are present in all 19 wards of the sub-metropolitan city. Laxman Adhikari, head of the land management division, noted that other wards also have community-level presence of Sukumbasi and informal residents.

The land management division reports that in 12 wards of Hetauda, there are 5,743 landless Dalits, landless Sukumbasi, and informal residents. This figure is based on tenure data collected through ward offices by the Land Problem Resolution Commission during 2020 and 2021. Adhikari explained, “More than 12,000 applications were received. I joined this division later, and only this amount of tenure has been entered. The details of the remaining applications were lost during the Janajati movement and could not be entered.”

Preliminary investigations by the sub-metropolitan office found that not all residents across the 19 wards are truly landless Sukumbasi or informal residents. While it is stated that all wards have Sukumbasi and informal residents under land management, the sub-metropolitan city lacks accurate data on this matter. The absence of prioritization for land management indicates that Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City has not adequately addressed the issue.