KATHMANDU, JUNE 7

Land revenue offices across the country today refrained from providing services to service-seekers against the circular issued previously by the Department of Land Management and Archives (DoLMA).

On June 5, DoLMA had asked all land revenue offices to resume internal, general and urgent services from the next day. The circular read that the offices would resume their works and services by following precautionary measures advised by the Ministry of Health and Population. But, LRO offices said the coronaviurs pandemic has forced them to limit their activities within concerned offices doing works including minimum land assessment, determination of land compensation, office salaries and allowance and court related works.

“There is still high risk of coronavirus spread and even the government has not fully lifted the nationwide lockdown,” said Janak Raj Joshi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, adding, “We have requested concerned LRO heads to facilitate service seekers on priority basis.”

The High-level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 has suggested the strategy of reopening the country on the basis of green, yellow and red zones.

The ministry has put all the border districts of Tarai in the red zone. “We regret that we could not set-up online service system in all land revenue offices before the government imposed nationwide lockdown.

But, once the lockdown is eased we will immediately implement such system in most of the technically feasible LROs,” said Joshi. “But, if gradual reopening increases the risk of infection to our staffers and service seekers, LROs will reconsider their decisions and it will take next few months to fully resume all services.”

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 8, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.