The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation has suggested the local level to classify land as quickly as possible. This request was made by the ministry at a time when land sales and other transactions and transfer of rights are not possible due to the non-classification of land by the local level. Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Damodar Regmi, said that if the classification of land is speedy, it will help in the planning process of development and solve the problems faced by the people.
The Ministry has been providing technical support to the local level for the classification of land through the Land Registry and Land Survey Office. He said, “If the local level classifies the land as soon as possible, many problems and complaints related to the land will be solved. The subordinate surveyors and land registry offices have been instructed to provide technical assistance.”
According to the ministry, due to the fact that the land could not be developed in a timely manner, the physical infrastructure structures and roads were disorganized and the arable land was destroyed. When the country’s fertile land started growing concrete houses instead of grain and vegetables, the government introduced the Land Use Policy in 2072 and the Land Use Act in 2076 to reduce it.
The government issued the Land Use Policy, 2072 with the objectives of protecting arable land, controlling fragmentation, increasing agricultural production and guaranteeing food security through the Chaklabandi program, sustainable infrastructure development, systematic urbanization, safe housing, proper management of natural resources, and disaster risk reduction.
Based on those policies and laws, the government has issued land regulations on 23rd June 2079 and classified land into 10 types including agricultural, mineral, industrial and forest. The main purpose of the regulation is to conduct business on a classified basis and pass land on that basis. During the fragmentation of land, an act has been introduced to protect farming and other areas on arable land.
After the country entered the federal democratic governance system, the issue of land has come under the jurisdiction of the local level. The ministry has been facilitating the government in making policies and regulations and monitoring their implementation, and sending the raised revenue to local levels and provinces.
Stating that there is no problem related to land classification at the local level, Secretary Regmi said, “Until the classification is done, there will be no land division, so the ministry has requested all the local levels to classify the land as soon as possible.”
The Department of Surveyors has prepared all 753 local level land use maps, their electronic records and statistics and handed them over to the local level. According to the ministry, the local level can use or update the map to separate land use areas. Due to lack of partition, the sale and distribution of land has been stopped for a long time.
The ministry claims that because more than 100 local levels of the country have classified land on time, there is no problem of allocation in such municipalities.