‘Land Act should be in favour of landless people’

Kathmandu: The members of the House of Representatives have said that the Land Act, to be formulated anew by the government, should be in favour of landless people.

In the meeting of the Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resource Committee under the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the lawmakers said the problems faced by the landless, Dalit, and those in the unmanaged settlements should be addressed with additional care and sensitivity. Their problems are not general, so the State’s adequate attention is required.

Lawmaker Pratima Gautam said the forest land must not be encroached on and misused. Similarly, the land exempted from the ceiling should be used for the same purpose as sought before the exemption, she added. “Proper coordination between the province and local governments is imperative in terms of land management. The new bill must not allow space for politics in the name of landless squatters,” she underscored.

Lawmaker Binita Kathayat blamed that the bill on land was being brought for those who can exercise power rather than for the commoners. Real data on landless and squatter dwellers is essential, according to her.

Lawmaker Sobita Gautam argued it was also an example of policy corruption to amend the Act which has already been amended for 16 times. “State protection is must for those who have no land to settle,” she argued.