Land allotment has been halted again in 363 municipalities that have not classified their land. The government had amended the Land Use Regulations 2079 for the third time and temporarily opened the way for land allotment in municipalities that have not classified their land. However, land allotment has been halted again since Shrawan in those municipalities that have not completed the classification within the specified period.

The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration has said that only 390 municipalities have classified their land so far. These municipalities have classified land into 10 sectors, including agriculture and industrial. The Land Use Act, 2076 BS, stipulates that the Land Use Council formed at the local level must implement land classification and land use policies based on the maps and details provided by the government. According to the regulations, land must be classified into 10 categories, including agriculture, residential, industry, forestry, mining and minerals, and commercial.

Since the issuance of the Land Use Act, 2076 BS and the Regulations 2079 BS, land allotment sales have stopped in municipalities that have not classified their land. However, the ministry's spokesperson Ganesh Bhatta said that the work of buying and selling the entire plot, allotment, partial compensation, court orders, and logging will not be stopped.

In 2082, after 500 municipalities did not fully classify the land, the land division was halted since Shrawan. At that time, only 253 municipalities had fully classified it. Earlier, in Bhadra 2081, land administration work including land division was halted in 620 municipalities due to the failure to fully classify the land. Only 133 municipalities had fully classified the land.

When the regulations were issued in Jestha 2079, four forts had to be opened within 6 months and agricultural zones had to be designated. By Mangsir 2079, only a few municipalities had allocated agricultural zones. After that, the land had to be classified into all 10 zones. But after most municipalities did not classify the land, the regulations were amended on 32 Shrawan 2080 and a provision was made to open four forts and designate agricultural zones within a year.

The first amendment to the regulation allowed residential and commercial land to be subdivided up to 80 square meters and agricultural land up to 1 ropani. Earlier, residential land could not be subdivided less than 130 square meters. In the case of agricultural land, there was a provision that it could not be subdivided less than 500 square meters in the valley and 675 square meters in the Terai and inner Madhesh.

There are separate criteria for agricultural, residential and commercial land in the land classified and allocated by the government. The regulation states that the local road standards must be met for commercial housing. After the municipality did not classify it even after extending the period of one year from the first amendment, the ministry amended the regulation for the second time in 2081 Bhadra.

The Land Use Regulation 2079 was amended for the third time and provided that by mid-Asad 2083, four forts should be opened and agricultural areas should be designated. 176 municipalities have prepared the plot-wise details, 130 municipalities have prepared the basis and criteria and updated the map, 61 municipalities have prepared the basis and criteria, 8 municipalities have only the agricultural sector and 38 municipalities have not started the work.

The Ministry of Land has already asked the Ministry of Law not to do it when the regulations were amended for the second time. The regulations have been amended even after that. ‘So far, data has been received that only 390 municipalities have classified, discussions have not started on amending the regulations to give more time for classification or what to do,’ said Bhatta, spokesperson for the ministry. ‘36 municipalities have not started yet. The remaining municipalities are in various stages of classification.’

Although the minimum cost for classification is 1.5 to 2 million rupees, Nepal Municipal Association President Bhim Prasad Dhungana said that some municipalities have not been able to do it because the federal and provincial governments have not provided budget for it. ‘Classification requires gathering everything from procedures to technicians. It costs money,’ he said, ‘Some municipalities lack budget. That is why it has not been done.’ On the other hand, Dhungana says that there is also a lack of sufficient technical manpower. "The government says it will send technicians when requested. But they don't send them, we have to hire technicians from our own resources," he said.