The government has amended land regulations to manage the landless and informal settlers across the country within the next 600 days. The tenure for problem-solving and district committees has been set at 500 days, with a provision to extend an additional 100 days if necessary. According to the regulations, landless individuals will not be eligible for land in areas deemed risky from religious, cultural, environmental, or forest perspectives.
May 10, Kathmandu — The government has decided to regularize landless and informal settlers within the upcoming 600-day period. The Land-Related Regulation 2021 was amended to establish problem-solving committees. According to the new regulation, the government will appoint the chairpersons of these committees, which are empowered to identify landless and informal settlers and undertake necessary actions.
The revised regulation mandates that the three-member committee include one female member. The committee’s secretary will be a first-class gazetted officer appointed by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs, and General Administration. Members must have at least 10 years of experience in land or natural resource management. Additionally, each district will form a Land Problem-Solving Committee.
The committee’s tenure will last 500 days from the date of formation, extendable by up to 100 days if work remains incomplete. In districts with over 5,000 applications, the district committee’s tenure will be 500 days; 200 days for districts with 1,000 to 5,000 applications; and 150 days for those with fewer than 1,000 applications. The land allocation and management of informal settlers must be finalized within this timeframe.
Chief District Officers will serve as chairpersons of the district committees. Committee members will include senior administrative officers designated by the Chief District Officer from local government, district coordination office heads, land administration office chiefs, division forest office chiefs, and district administration officers. The head of the Survey Department will function as secretary.
The committee will establish criteria and standards for identifying and certifying landless Dalits, landless squatters, and informal settlers. Local governments will receive approved formats for collecting necessary documents. Land mapping and verification will be conducted by the Survey Committee for those who have resided continuously since Magh 28, 2066 (mid-February 2010), to facilitate land allocation.
The government will transfer only state land—excluding lands reserved by law, riverbanks, and government-owned lands acquired beyond legal limits—to landless Dalits and squatters. Furthermore, government land opened for special purposes or acquired but unused by projects may also be allocated to landless or squatter communities.
The committee may provide land to the landless from government custodial land and various publicly managed land types including ‘aelani,’ ‘parti,’ ‘aankada,’ ‘hale,’ ‘pate,’ ‘koda,’ ‘birota,’ ‘kipat,’ and ‘ukhda.’ Assistance can also be extended to informal settlers residing in industrial areas.
Using data collected from local governments, the committee will develop an analysis system to classify informal settlers’ land and collect fees after land allocation. The committee is authorized to relocate unsafe settlements or manage them through integrated settlement development. Certain powers cannot be delegated to individual members or district committees.
Management responsibility applies only to government land registered in the name of Nepal’s government when accommodating landless Dalits, squatters, and informal settlers. The committee will classify informal settlers based on data provided by local governments and publicly disclose this information. Corrections can be requested within 15 days by submitting an application to the local government.
If an application is filed, the committee must decide within 21 days after receiving local government recommendations. Upon successfully providing land to landless Dalits and squatters, the government will dissolve the committees. All records, work documentation, and decisions must be handed over to the ministry upon dissolution.
The district committee’s decisions on land allocation and management, certified registrations, and records will be transferred to the land and survey office. Under the Land Act, land cannot be allocated in areas of religious, cultural, strategic importance, natural disaster risk zones, public land, rivers, canals, national parks, conservation areas, forest lands, or within road boundaries.
Similarly, land required by federal, provincial, or local governments for official purposes is also exempt from allocation.
