The lives of landless Dalits, landless squatters, and unorganized settlers across the country have once again been plunged into a pit of confusion and injustice. Their work to obtain land rights has once again stalled.

This situation has arisen after the interim government abolished the ‘Land Problem Resolution Commission’. Instead of the government having to solve the problem of the landless that has been going on for generations, the landless have been treated unfairly by abolishing the commission itself.

This government, which carries the mandate of elections and good governance, has also struck its first blow against the people at the grassroots level, as in the past. By abolishing the commission that was responsible for managing agricultural land, the government has hurt about 6 million people across the country. And, it has shattered the hopes of landless citizens for decades.

The state should ensure the right to housing and livelihood of citizens, but it is a serious mistake to abolish the struggling body. This means ignoring the constitutional system.

The state’s attack on the dreams of the landless people

The interim government abolished the ‘Land Problem Resolution Commission’ less than a month after it began its work. Instead of taking interest, concern and initiative to solve the problems of landless Dalits and landless squatters at the earliest, it is not a proper decision to uproot the root of this process. The civil government formed through the movement, which was expected to bring change and justice, also took away the rights of the citizens. And, as in the past, it continued the party tradition.

Before abolishing the commission, the government needed to study its background. It was a completely wrong move to abolish the 'Land Problem Resolution Commission' by keeping other commissions, task forces and committees formed by the previous government in place. The path to solving the problem has been blocked by abolishing the commission itself, which should have provided speedy justice to the grassroots citizens who have been discriminated against and unjust for generations.

There are allegations that party cadres were recruited to the Land Commission. However, other agencies and commissions are also being run by officials appointed on the recommendation of the same political party! Why is the only attack always on the commission that works on the landless? What is the political interest in this? Can't this be seen as a conspiracy to keep the landless landless forever?

There are experts in justice and law who have worked in the justice sector - under the leadership of the government. This government also decided to abolish the commission without paying attention to the spirit of the Constitution of Nepal-2072 BS. According to Article 40 (5) of the Constitution, there is a provision to provide land for housing and farming to landless Dalits by making a law. For that, the Eighth Amendment to the Land Act-2021 had provided a legal basis to the commission. However, neither the spirit of the constitution was respected, nor was the act implemented. The abolition of the Land Commission is not just an institutional abolition, but an attack on the fundamental rights of landless Dalits and the years of struggle. It is unjust to reduce to nothing the initiatives being taken by the state to resolve the land problem, the investment, resources, and human resources made by the federal and local governments. This decision has left millions of landless families in extreme despair.

Impact of the Commission's abolition

Currently, the management of landless and unorganized settlements was underway in 750 local levels across the country. The last notification for data collection was published and the collection work was underway accordingly. The Commission was working on managing and registering 1.1 million, 29,517 families, including 88,895 landless Dalit families, 168,441 landless squatters and 872,181 unorganized settlers, and providing land ownership certificates. Since the Land Commissions have been stuck in the cycle of formation and dissolution every time and have not achieved results, provisions were also made in the formation order of the Commission to ensure that this does not happen this time and that the problem does not remain in the future.

‘The term of office of the Commission and the District Committee shall be three years from the date of its formation. If the work is not completed within the specified period, the Government of Nepal may extend the term of the Commission by a maximum of two years.’ It has also been stated that ‘the term of office of the District Committee shall be three years in the case of a district with more than five thousand applications, two years in the case of a district with more than one thousand to five thousand applications, and one year in the case of a district with up to one thousand applications.’ In terms of dissolution, it has been stated that ‘the formation order states that the Commission or the concerned District Committee shall dissolve the Commission or the concerned District Committee after the work of providing land to landless Dalits, landless squatters and managing unorganized settlements is completed.’ The government’s decision to dissolve the Commission, ignoring all provisions, has created a situation where all applications are left stranded. And, the efforts and investments made by the local government, which is most responsible for this process, have also come to a halt.

Uprooting is wrong

The truth is that there was some delay in the work of the Commission. The previous and disbanded commissions also failed to deliver the expected results. However, this commission had been learning from the past and strengthening the rules and procedures. And, after a deep review, it was possible to deliver results this time. The commission could have been made stronger, simpler and more just, and it was necessary to do so. However, this government also did the same wrong thing that the past did.

This government should have instead discussed the issue of ‘how to further strengthen the commission?’ by involving stakeholders, experts, civil society representatives and leaders of the landless community. And, by giving clear procedures and setting a time limit, it should have given a mandate to reduce landlessness to zero. It is not justified to keep the landless in injustice forever and to deprive them of their fundamental rights and social justice.

The one who is low, the one who is high is the one who is low

Every year, the government's policy documents contain ambitious plans to distribute land ownership certificates to millions of landless people. However, no concrete readiness is ever shown towards its implementation. This year too, the government had planned to provide certificates to 500,000 landless families in its policies and programs. Such a big plan, policy and program was announced in the budget, but how appropriate is it to put a 'break' on the work by abolishing the commission itself? What greater insult and injustice can there be to the people at the grassroots level?

The way forward

The government has not issued new policies and programs. It has not even brought a new budget. That is not the mandate of this government either. The government should withdraw its decision and let the commission work again. It would be appropriate to add experienced members and office bearers, experts who are lobbying for land, engaged in campaigns and movements, activists and rights activists to the commission and continue the ongoing work. For this, the Supreme Court's short-term order to 'not implement the decision to dissolve the Land Problem Resolution Commission' has also given room . Please correct the weakness .