The Ministry of Land Reform and Management (MoLRM) has said that its efforts to collect land details from across the country have become ineffective due to non-cooperation from the ministries concerned. MoLRM had initiated a landmark move to enforce the Land Reform Act (Fifth Amendment)-2001, that prohibits possession of land in excess of ceiling, by issuing a 35-day notice nearly two months ago.
"Our objective was to collect details of land from those possessing land exceeding the legal ceiling or below the ceiling," said Chhabiraj Panta, secretary at MoLRM, adding, "Our drive, however, has become ineffective due to non-cooperation from the ministries concerned." According to him, three ministries-Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) turned a deaf ear to MoLRM´s request to support its move. The government´s bid to enforce the land reform act means distributing lands in excess of ceiling to the landless. As per the MoLRM notice, those who possess land exceeding the legal ceiling are required to submit their land particulars either at the Land Reform Office or the Land Revenue Office in their respective districts within the designated deadline. "We have received information that only a few people submitted their land details following our notice, due to non-cooperation from government agencies concerned," Panta added. According to him, MoF did not release the Rs 1.6 million sought by MoLRM to expedite its move while MoHA was found to be indifference in providing security as requested. MoLRM had asked those who own land less than the ceiling to submit their land details either at the village development committee or at municipalities. "We also didn´t get any cooperation from the local bodies," Secretary Panta told Republica. The Supreme Court had ordered the government to implement the land reform law enacted in 2001. Implementation of the law was expected to reform land distribution in the country. "Our goal to identify by name, address and other particulars those owning more land then the legal limit, take over such land and distribute it to the landless has become ineffective due to non-cooperation from the ministries responsible," Panta said. As per the Land Reform Act (Fifth Amendment), a person can own 20 ropanis of land in Kathmandu Valley, 10 bighas in the Tarai districts and 70 ropanis in Hill districts. Likewise, a person can own five ropanis of land in Kathmandu Valley and Hill districts and one bigha in the Tarai for homestead purposes. Before the amendment to the act, an individual could own a maximum of 50 ropanis in Kathmandu Valley and 20 bighas in the Tarai. Publishing a public notice in the state-run Gorkhapatra daily, MoLRM asked all Nepali citizens to support the ministry´s bid to implement the legal provisions and avoid possible action under the land ceiling. Advocate Madhav Basnet had filed a contempt case after government officials failed to collect within 180 days particulars concerning those owing land over the ceiling, as directed by the apex court on January 20, 2010.
source: myRepublica