The landless and disorganized settlers, who were hoping for a solution to the problem after several protests, have been disappointed by the government's decision to abolish the 'Land Problem Resolution Commission'.

The ‘Land Problem Resolution Commission’, which was last formed on 13 Kartik 2081, had moved ahead with the work at a rapid pace, calling it ‘the last opportunity for land registration and land acquisition in the names of landless Dalits, landless squatters and unorganized settlers across the country.’ Jagat Basnet, an expert member of the commission, says, ‘We were working for land management for landless and unorganized settlers. But after the government’s decision, all work has been stopped.’ 

The Council of Ministers decided to abolish the Land Problem Resolution Commission and its district committees on 23 Asoj. There is uncertainty about how the incomplete work of landless and unorganized settlers acquiring land will proceed now. Land expert Jagat Deuja says that policymakers are considering the problem of landless and unorganized settlers as a game.

‘Basically, it is against the spirit of federalism for the federation to dissolve or abolish the work being done by the local, provincial and federal governments to register land that has been used by landless and unorganized settlers for a long time, whenever it pleases,’ he says. ‘This process must be stopped.’

Millions of families in Nepal are living without land. They are not only victims of structural discrimination, but are also forced to live without land due to various legal obstacles, political maneuvering and interference. The land commissions have estimated that there are 300,000 landless families across the country. The commission officials say that it will take some time to get accurate details as data collection, verification and certification are ongoing. The number of unorganized settlers is even larger. What kind of prosperity can be achieved by leaving such a large number of citizens behind? Isn’t this making the word prosperity meaningless? Questions are being asked one after the other.

What difference has the decision to abolish the commission made?

The ‘Land Problem Resolution Commission’ had issued a notice on 30th Shrawan, giving an additional 35 days to submit applications, saying it was ‘for the last time’. The government changed before the notice expired. Less than a month after the formation of the new government, the decision to abolish the Land Commission was made. The applications filed with the commission before that are pending.

According to the latest update on the Land Commission, the applications of 88,895 landless Dalits, 168,441 landless squatters and 872,181 unorganized settlers have been verified by the local level and entered into the commission’s information system. Since 2076, only 8,848 landless and unorganized settlers have received land ownership certificates.

Land expert Jagat Deuja says that the decision to abolish the commission risks nullifying the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, the state’s responsibility and all past efforts. "Dissolving the commission when the law has already set a clear deadline for providing land to landless Dalits, squatters, and unorganized settlers is a direct obstacle and a serious injustice to them.

The most appropriate course of action for the government at this time is to immediately reconsider the decision to cancel and move forward with the work in a more vigorous manner," he says. "The government needs to pay attention to immediately move forward with the incomplete process of land surveying and distribution of certificates, formulate an implementation plan with a clear deadline, and end the long-term socio-economic exclusion caused by the landless."

According to Deuja, just as land-related work is ongoing, similarly, based on the recommendation of the local government, the district committee can decide to issue land ownership certificates, and then the landless and unorganized settlers themselves can go to the Land Revenue Office and get a certificate of ownership. 

Waiting for Supreme Court order

After the government decided to dissolve the Land Commission, the office bearers of the commission, including Hari Prasad Rijal, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding that the commission be allowed to function regularly after the government decided to dissolve the landless Dalit family. Hearing the petition on November 11 and 13, the court issued a short-term order in the name of the government. And, the next hearing has been scheduled for November 14 (Sunday).

On November 11, the Supreme Court had issued a short-term interim order saying, "The implementation of the decision of the Council of Ministers of the respondent Government of Nepal on October 23 to dissolve the Land Problem Resolution Commission and its district committees should be maintained in the same state as it is currently." On November 13, the Supreme Court had continued the short-term interim order of November 11, saying, "In view of the fact that the work of the commission to be formed is also possible from other government bodies, including the Land Act, there is/is no provision in it." Similarly, the hearing of the matter raised in the writ petition has been scheduled for November 14, so that the hearing cannot be postponed for that purpose.

Why is the Land Commission within the ambit of politicization?

The game of abolishing the Land Commission and forming another one, citing the reason of ‘political appointment’ every time the government changes, has been going on for a long time. During the formation of the last commission, a committee was formed in 77 districts to solve the problems of landless Dalits across the country. On December 29, 2002, 4 office bearers were appointed to the committees in 71 districts at once and on January 6, 2002, 4 officials each were appointed to the committees in the remaining 6 districts. Without completing the work, the government decided to dissolve the commission. This has also confused the local level.

According to the landless, it is wrong to have people from the ruling party, especially people from a certain faction, in the commission rather than those with experience in the relevant subject. The commission is not needed in all 77 districts. The commission can work in coordination with the local government so that decisions are made directly by the commission in districts with fewer problems. But in the current situation, serious attention needs to be paid to the fact that the work done so far will be nullified if the commission is abolished. Unorganized settlers are not allowed to earn land, nor are they brought into the revenue system. Land activist Sushma Neupane says that the recent commissions have worked in coordination with the local level, so they have been systematic.

What is the problem of landless and unorganized settlers?

There are many land-related problems in Nepal. These problems are particularly related to the judicial distribution of land, housing, land ownership, access to agricultural land, and good governance. The land problem is becoming more complex as new problems keep being added and old ones are not being solved. Among them, the problem of landless and unorganized settlers is the most important. This problem is directly related to about 20 percent of the total families in Nepal. The landless have been deprived of the most basic rights of life, including housing, food, security, employment, education, and health, for centuries. The landless always have a grievance—the state looks at us differently and does not help us. Landless and unorganized settlers have a life of struggle. 

The suffering of landless Dalits

Nar Bahadur Pariyar's family from Vijaybasti, Mahottari, Bardibas Municipality-8, migrated to Bardibas from Udayapur Murmi four decades ago. His family lives and farms on land that is 5 kattas of Ratu Khola and 14 dhurs of river Ukas. 'I have applied to the Land Commission five times. It was measured twice, but the land title deed has not come,' says Nar Bahadur. 'When the government formed the commission, they said that something would happen now, where is the chance of getting the land title deed? The news of the commission's dissolution has added to the suffering and pain.' 

Another landless person, Indra Bahadur Bishwakarma (70), lives in the same settlement. His family has also been there since 2022. Indra Bahadur says, 'We have been squatters for three generations. It has been 10 years since the constitution was made. We have not received the land. We do not even know when we will get it. With the change of government, the business of abolishing the commission has become even more hopeless.' Earlier, he had one and a half bighas of open land. There was also some farming. Now, having lost all his land without compensation for the establishment of an army barracks, he has only one and a half katta left. 'If there had been a red paper, he would have received compensation, but since he did not have a paper, he had to leave the land he was earning,' he sounds disappointed.

Indra Nepali (40) of Titali village, Shikhar Municipality-8, Doti, does not have the land in her name. She only has a small and narrow plot of land. There is no additional land to cultivate vegetables. 'Earlier, the non-Dalits here gave our ancestors a little land to work on. But there is no paper. 'Now, 13 families from 6 houses here have become Dalits. No one has land in their name. We do not even have the sewing and cutting profession like before. We have not been able to submit an application to any commission or municipality. After hearing the news of the formation of the commission, we repeatedly went to the ward chairman and requested him, and he said he would inform him. But, he did not do any research,” says Indra. “We Dalits do not even have land to plant vegetables. It is difficult for Dalits to even get farming in Andhiya. Our suffering is unbearable.”

Manisha Nepali (20) from the same settlement also belongs to a landless family. Her brothers and sisters-in-law are in India for work. Manisha says, “We have to pay off the loans taken from the landlords during my father’s time. My father used to live as a haliya.” Manisha, who has passed grade 12, is unemployed and does not have the financial means to study further. Khem Luhar from Duikattha Camp, Beldandi Rural Municipality-1, Kanchanupar, is landless. He was displaced from Shuklaphanta National Park. They were displaced after the park took over the land they had previously settled on. They were given 2 kattas of land in Dharnakhola, where they are currently living. But the ownership of that land is not in her name, the settlement is unsafe, and it is near the forest. She says, ‘The application form was opened at the Land Commission, but she was not even allowed to fill the form as a reserved victim. We had heard that Dalits will be given land for housing and farming in the constitution, but we didn’t get it?’ 

Lakshmi Sarki (37) lives in Sri Lankan settlement, Bhimdatta Municipality-10, Kanchanpur. Not only Lakshmi, but none of the 65 landless Dalits living in Sri Lankan settlement have land titles. Lakshmi has 6 kattas of unclaimed land, including her home and farm. Showing the evidence of submitting the application to the Land Commission, Lakshmi says, ‘We have submitted the application many times. It has been 20 years since I heard that we would get the title deeds, but we did not get them, we gave a lot of hope. This state has never been on the side of us landless people.’ 

Jagen Sarki (73), who has been living in Sri Lankan settlement since 2022, is saddened by the fact that we have not received the land titles. He was born in Dadeldhura and has been living there since he came to the Terai. Jagen says, ‘We had settled here on vacant land. A survey team even came once. But, the title deed did not come.’ He has been submitting applications to the land commissions since 2045. He says, ‘I have 5 sons, all of whom have gone to work in India. Neither farming is enough to feed me, nor is there a safe place to live.’ 

Jhulan Majhi (35) of Kauwaban, Sakhuwa Prasauni Rural Municipality-3, Parsa district is also landless. Majhi has a small ‘shack’ (house), where many family members have to live in cramped conditions. He has neither a birth certificate nor citizenship. ‘Sometimes, citizenship is required even to submit an application,’ says Jhulan, ‘Living has been very difficult and miserable. No matter how many times I have appealed to the state, I have never received any help.’ The plight of not only the landless but also the unorganized settlers is similar. These people, who have no land but have been living by grabbing government public land, earn money from other people's land without reaching their own. Some have bought a lot of land by saving money. However, they cannot make a living by leaving public land. 

With a few exceptions, millions of unorganized settlers are also dragging their lives below the poverty line. For example, let's listen to the sad story of Nanda Joshi of Shuklaphanta, Kanchanpur. She got married at a young age and had no land in her house. Later, she and her husband worked as laborers in India and bought 17 kattas of public land. It cost a lot of money to buy a land plot. 'Even though it is public land, we bought it on the basis of household papers. It has been many years since we registered it and started going for the title deed, but no one understood our problem. Perhaps during my time, this land was not registered. Even though we had to work hard to acquire land in another country, we left our children landless and died,' says Nanda.

Previous unfinished initiatives

Land has been provided as a ‘fundamental right’ to resolve some issues related to land from the constitution. It can be understood that the state has prioritized landless Dalits by ensuring that the issue of landless Dalits is also ensured as a fundamental right of the constitution. The seventh amendment to the Land Act was made in 2075 BS saying ‘implementation of this provision’. Section 52 ‘A’ of the Act (Seventh Amendment 2075 BS) states, ‘The Government of Nepal shall provide land to landless Dalits for a one-time period within three years as specified.’ Accordingly, the landless Dalits should have been able to obtain land by Asoj 2078 BS.  

According to the provision made by the amendment to the Act, a Land Problem Resolution Commission was formed in Baisakh 2076 BS under the leadership of Devi Gyawali. It was dissolved in 2078 BS and a National Land Commission was formed under the leadership of Keshav Niraula. That commission was also dissolved in 2081 BS. The then government had formed the 'Land Problem Resolution Commission' under the leadership of Hari Prasad Rijal in Kartik 2081, which was also recently dissolved by the government led by Sushila Karki.

Landless Jagen Sarki of Kanchanpur.

Article 40 of the Constitution states that the state has made 'special provisions for landless Dalits' as a fundamental right. Clause (5) of Article 40 states that 'the state shall provide land to landless Dalits once in accordance with the law' and clause (6) states that 'the state shall arrange for housing for houseless Dalits in accordance with the law'.

Clause 'J' (6) of Article 51 states that 'freed Kamaiyas, Kamlaris, Harawas, Charawas, Haliyas, landless and squatters shall be identified and rehabilitated by arranging houses for their residence and arable land or employment for their livelihood'. Article 51 (h) states that unorganized settlements will be managed and planned and systematic housing will be developed. 

Before the eighth amendment to the Land Act (2076), the commission was formed based on the formation order. It has been three and a half decades since the government started forming the commission to solve the problem of squatters. In the meantime, commissions have been formed under the leadership of Bal Bahadur Rai (2048), Shailaja Acharya (2049), Rishiraj Lumsali (2051), Buddhiman Tamang (2052), Chanda Shah (2054), Buddhiman Tamang (2054), Tarini Dutta Chataut (2055), Gangadhar Lamsal (2055), Siddharaj Ojha (2056), Md. Aftaab Alam (2058), Kailash Mahato (2064), Gopalmani Gautam (2066), Bhakti Prasad Lamichhane (2068) and Sharada Prasad Subedi (2071). The Systematic Settlement Commission (2073) chaired by Vikram Pandey was also formed. Despite the formation of this commission, the landless Dalits have not been able to get ownership of the land yet. 

The Supreme Court had ruled that it was not appropriate to form a commission and provide land solely on the basis of the formation order and ordered the government to solve the problem of the landless by making a law. As per this order, the government made the eighth amendment to the Land Act. But even after forming the commission by making a law, everyone who goes to the government continued to dissolve the previous commission and form another one. Senior advocate Raju Prasad Chapagain says that an order is necessary to resolve this.

The dream of prosperity without Dalits

According to the National Census 2078, the Dalit population is 38,98,990 (13.4 percent). According to the National Land Commission's 2078 data, 51 percent of Dalit families in Nepal are landless or semi-landless. Only 9 to 12 percent of families have land sufficient to eat throughout the year. According to the Community Self-Reliance Service Center, more than 60 percent of Dalit families in rural areas live on government, Guthi or other private land, while in urban areas, such residence is around 70 to 75 percent. They were victims of structural discrimination in the past, but now they are forced to live as landless people due to various legal obstacles, political maneuvers and interference.

Landless Indra Nepali of Doti