Kathmandu, November 29:

Government spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara has pledged that the government would form a land reform commission within two weeks.

The announcement comes as a relief for the landless people, but the resolution of the issue may not be easy as the political parties are divided over some key principles.

CPN-Maoist and CPN-UML, the two major partners of the ruling coalition, want the central government to ensure citizens’ access to a minimum area of land as a fundamental right while some of the Madhesi parties want the issue to be settled by the provincial government. “Access to a minimum area of land is citizens’

basic right, which the central government should protect,” said Keshav Badal, the

UML leader who headed a land reform commission 13 years ago.

Senior advocate Harihar Dahal said natural resources such as water and land fall under the purview of a central jurisdiction. “If the provincial government is authorised to form land policies, it can widen the gulf between provinces in the distribution of natural resources,” he argued.

Madhesi parties, however, do not agree with these explanations.

“The issue of land reform comes under the purview of the provincial government,” said Tarai Madhes Democratic Party leader Hridayesh Tripathi. “The nature of land disputes differs from region to region.”

Tripathi said it would not be easy for the government to carry out land reforms in an effective manner unless the provincial government had a major say.