• The order aims to check encroachment of public, trust land

Kathmandu, April 16 The government has issued Systematic Settlement Commission Order, 2017 to manage and develop planned and systematic settlements. As per a notice published by the Ministry of Land Reform and Management in the Nepal Gazette, the order also aims to check encroachment of government, public and trust land while solving squatters’ problem. There shall be a nine-member commission headed by minister or state minister for land reform and management. Secretaries at the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, MoLRM, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, MoLRM, three area experts appointed by the Council of Ministers and a gazetted first class officer of the MoLRM would be members of the commission. The commission may designate location for settlement development by publishing a public notice. The commission would approve guiding principle for planned and systematic management of sectoral issues, issue directives to facilitation committee to prepare action plan and approve the same, give instructions to district committees to implement policy provisions and prevent duplication in settlement development programme, among other things. The nine-member facilitation committee led by secretary at the MoLRM comprises directors general of the Department of Forests, Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, Department of Roads, Department of Land Reform and Management, Department of Survey, two area experts and member-secretary of the commission as members. The facilitation committee is empowered to prepare and submit policy provisions and implementation strategy to the commission for approval. The order also has a provision of an 11-member district settlement management committee led by the concerned chief district officer and shall identify appropriate locations for settlement development/management and beneficiaries. The order has also set the criteria for selection of settlement management. “The number of families, their occupation, business and status of livelihoods, environmental condition, potential impacts in case of failure to address the problem immediately and risk of geographical or geological disasters are the criteria for selection,” read the order. The government may acquire necessary land for settlement management though priority shall be given to government-owned land and private land confiscated for being above the ceiling.