They want ban on land plotting lifted, interest rates reduced, among other demands
KATHMANDU, APRIL 10
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has assured Pokharabased tourism entrepreneurs that he will soon lift the ban on land plotting as that was one reason behind the current liquidity crunch in the banks.
According to Pokhara-based journalist Ram Krishna Gyawali, who accompanied the team led by Pokhara Tourism Council Chair Pom Narayan Shrestha, the PM told the team he had forged consensus among Cabinet members on lifting the ban on land plotting and would take a call on the issue soon.
The PM's assurance came in the backdrop of real estateagents' complaints that they risked losing the money they invested in real estate as they were unable to sell their land plots due to ban on land plotting.
Many real estate agents also complained that they were unable to repay bank loans due to the government's ban on land plotting that came into force on 10 August 2017 when Gopal Dahit was the Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and poverty Alleviation.
Advocate Pankaj Kumar Karna said the lifting of ban on land plotting was overdue.
"Governments are formed to resolve people's problems and this unwise ban on land plotting has remained in effect for years. Now, if the PM is ready to lift the ban, that's good news," he added. Karna said the federal government would need to coordinate with the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Department of Survey and local government before lifting the ban.
Land Utilisation Act and Rules give some power to local governments to list lands under different categories.
The government had introduced restrictive policies prohibiting land plotting in the face of complaints that real estate agents were plotting arable land and keeping those plots barren for years.
According to Section 12 of the Land Utilisation Act, 2019, plotting cannot be done on land other than the land allocated for housing purposes. As per this act, local governments will have to categorise land into different categories, mainly arable and non-arable land. Plotting of arable land is not allowed.
Rule 12 of Land Utilisation Rules prohibits plotting of arable land beyond 500 square metres in Kathmandu valley and 675 Square metres in the inner Tarai and inner Madhes and 1,000 square metres in areas other than Kathmandu valley and Tarai and inner Madhes region.
Section 4 of the act stipulates that the land can be listed under arable, housing, commercial, industry, mining, forest, river, wetland, public use and cultural, and archaeology categories.
Pokhara based tourism entrepreneurs' team submitted a memorandum to the PM saying the tourism sector faced crisis one after another post- 2015 Gorkha earthquakes and they were unable to pay their bank loan instalment. They said the banks were supposed to slash interest rates, but contrary to their expectations, banks had hiked interest rates significantly. "Interest rate used to be seven to eight per cent but now it is almost double that rate," read the memorandum.
Tourism entrepreneurs said that due to economic recession some entrepreneurs had already closed down their businesses. Stating that they approached the PM as their last resort remedy, entrepreneurs urged the PM to enforce rescheduling of bank loans, reduce bank interest to single digit and mandate bank and banking institutions to invest in tourism sector.
The team also urged the PM to ensure operation of international flights to and from Pokhara Regional International Airport. They said that porters and guides should not be made mandatory for tourists that travel on motorable roads.
According to journalist Gyawali the PM told the team that he was making efforts to get air routes from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
