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Kathmandu, February 22: The number of applications registered with the National Land Commission for obtaining land by “landless Dalits,” “landless squatters,” and “unmanaged settlers” has reached 1.1 million. According to the Commission, among those seeking land, 300,000 are landless Dalits and landless squatters, while 800,000 are unmanaged settlers.

Expert member of the Commission Tek Bahadur Shah said that coordination and cooperation have been carried out with local governments to collect records through a one-door system. He stated that, in coordination with district committees under the Commission as well as the concerned municipalities and ward offices, all applications will be verified. As the management of landless squatters is the responsibility of the state, record collection has been initiated, he said.

While recommending landless squatters and unmanaged settlers, Shah noted that after local governments conduct proper studies and complete the prescribed criteria and procedures, records will be checked at the land revenue offices to determine whether applicants own land or not. He added that landless squatters who complete these procedures will be recommended by the district committees under the Commission to the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation for the issuance of land ownership certificates (lalpurja).

The Commission stated that it is working in coordination with local governments to verify families of landless squatters and unmanaged settlers who have registered applications. “In managing them, settlements built by encroaching on forests, public places, cultural heritage sites, and similar areas will not be provided land. Landless squatters are defined as families who do not own land anywhere in the country and individuals who are unable to arrange land through their income, resources, or efforts, along with family members dependent on them,” Shah said.

The term “unmanaged settlers” is defined as families who may own land in some part of the country but have been living and cultivating land elsewhere for decades, without the land being registered in their names. In other words, individuals who have been occupying and cultivating land and living there with houses or sheds for at least 10 years, along with their dependent family members, fall under this category, Shah explained. Land ownership certificates are distributed to them after collecting the prescribed revenue.

“Landless Dalits” are defined as landless squatters belonging to communities listed as Dalits by the National Dalit Commission. The Commission stated that landless Dalits will be given priority during the management of squatters. It is estimated that the total number may increase by the time the Commission completes its work.

People’s News Monitoring Service.