Land Reform Act amendment on cards

	PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE KATHMANDU, Jan 4: The Ministry of Land Reforms and Management (MoLRM) is preparing to table a bill for amendment to the Land Reforms Act in the coming session of the parliament, including a provision for disclosure of land details only by the people holding land more than the ceiling set by the government. The existing Act makes it mandatory for every landholder to disclose details of land under their ownership.  The MoLRM´s came up with the amendment bill after the government failed to allocate budget for collecting landholding details across the country as proposed by the ministry. “It is not possible to collect land details across the country given the limited human resources and financial resources at the ministry. That is why we are preparing for the amendment to the Land Reform Act to pave the way for collection of details of only the people holding land more than the government-set ceiling,” Madhav Regmi, joint secretary at the MoLRM, told Republica on Monday. Regmi, who is also the spokesperson of the MoLRM, said the ministry has already demanded Rs 660 million from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to collect details of about six million landholders across the country if the amendment bill is not endorsed in the winter session. A committee led by MoLRM Secretary Chhabiraj Pant had worked out the estimated budget for administrative cost, cost for data processing and salary of staffers. Earlier, the ministry had demanded Rs 660 million from the Finance Ministry to collect details of landholding across the country. However, the plan has faced a setback as the government did not allocate the budget in the current fiscal year. The MoLRM three months ago had started implementation of the Land Reform Act (Fifth Amendment)-2001 -- that bars people from owning land in excess of the ceiling -- by issuing a 35-day notification. The MoLRM had even proposed to distribute land in excess of the ceiling to underprivileged and landless people. Responding to a writ petition seeking immediate implementation of the Land Reforms Act, the Supreme Court a few months ago had ordered the government to implement the law enacted in 2001 that envisages bringing landmark changes in the country´s land reforms. In response to the apex court ruling, the MoLRM had issued a 35-day notice urging people across the country to disclose their landholding details at the Land Reform Office or the Land Revenue Office in their respective districts. As per the notice, people having landholding below the allowed limits could furnish details to concerned village development committees of municipalities. As per the Land Reforms Act (Fifth Amendment), a person can own 20 ropanis of land in Kathmandu Valley, 10 bighas in Tarai districts and 70 ropanis in hilly districts. Likewise, a person can own five ropanis in Kathmandu Valley and hilly districts and one bigha in Tarai districts for homestead purpose.
Published on 2011-01-04 02:03:19 http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=26770