If firms or individuals cannot use excess land for the stated purpose, they must return it to the govt, which can use it as per the land-use policy

When land reforms were made some 55 years ago, the main objective of the move was to shift the country to an industrial society by giving excess land to the landless people so that they could contribute to the national economy. But it failed miserably to achieve the stated goal as most of the landlords who possessed hundreds of bighas or ropanies of land in the Tarai, the Kathmandu Valley and the hills divided their excess land either among the family members or registered them for industrial purpose with no-holds-barred. Still thousands of bighas of land are occupied by landlords who are not engaged in agriculture or industry. Such land has remained fallow, while thousands of landless families have gone hungry for want of a minimum piece of land for tilling. There are some other lands – over 60,000 bighas across the country – occupied by various temples as guthi land and universities – where the landless families have tilled them without having land ownership certificates. The main problem here is how to resolve both the problems faced by the landless families and those institutions or individuals who have failed to utilise them in the productive sector.

To address these problems, the government has tabled the Land Management (eighth amendment) Bill once and for all. But the concerned stakeholders have opposed some of the provisions, saying they will neither do justice to the landless families nor bring the required reforms in land management. Another bill recently passed by both the Houses of the federal Parliament has also categorised the country’s total land into ten categories, under which one type of land cannot be used for another purpose. In the Land Management Bill, the government has proposed providing five katthas of land to the landless people in the Tarai. But stakeholders say this is too little to enable them to sustain their livelihood. They have demanded that the landless people be given at least 10 katthas of land for their economic empowerment. The bill has also proposed granting unmanaged settlers ownership of occupied land, for example, forests, after they pay fees to the government. Should this provision pass through both the Houses, unmanaged settlers will tend to encroach more forests, as has happened in Morang.

The bill, already endorsed by the Lower House, must not allow unmanaged settlers to occupy forest land, where they have built houses and tilled such land. The Upper House must make correction of the mistakes the Lower House has made. Distributing public land will not help people uplift them out of poverty unless the government creates jobs outside agriculture. The most disturbing aspect of the bill is its proposal to allow individuals or firms to sell the excess land occupied by them for industrial purpose. As per the existing law, one can hold as much land as possible for industrial purpose. If they are allowed to sell the excess land, they will not run industries and, instead, will start selling the land, which has now become the most lucrative business. Firms or individuals must return the excess land to the government if they cannot use it for the stated purpose. The land must be used as per the land-use policy. Farmers’ woes

If the country is to achieve self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs, such as sugar, it is imperative that the government do more than pay lip service to the plight of the farmers and the industry concerned. Nepal’s sugar demand stands at 280,000 tons while the domestic industries can supply about 120,000 tons. The rest is met through imports worth billions. The output of the sugar mills – there are 12 of them in the country – rely on the quantity of sugarcane supplied by the farmers. But the government has been largely indifferent to the woes of the farmers. The farmers of Kanchanpur district in far west Nepal are worried about a poor crop due to the scanty rains this year. The poor monsoon would not have been a problem had there been irrigation facilities.

The woes of the farmers do not end there. Other problems range from poor quality saplings and lack of insurance to market access and payment. Some sugar mills in other districts of the country have not paid the farmers even years after selling sugarcane. Unless the farmers are motivated, we could see a drop in sugarcane output, and ultimately sugar. This will only increase our dependency on imports, which is perhaps what the business community wants.

Farmers’ woes

If the country is to achieve self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs, such as sugar, it is imperative that the government do more than pay lip service to the plight of the farmers and the industry concerned. Nepal’s sugar demand stands at 280,000 tons while the domestic industries can supply about 120,000 tons. The rest is met through imports worth billions. The output of the sugar mills – there are 12 of them in the country – rely on the quantity of sugarcane supplied by the farmers. But the government has been largely indifferent to the woes of the farmers. The farmers of Kanchanpur district in far west Nepal are worried about a poor crop due to the scanty rains this year. The poor monsoon would not have been a problem had there been irrigation facilities.

The woes of the farmers do not end there. Other problems range from poor quality saplings and lack of insurance to market access and payment. Some sugar mills in other districts of the country have not paid the farmers even years after selling sugarcane. Unless the farmers are motivated, we could see a drop in sugarcane output, and ultimately sugar. This will only increase our dependency on imports, which is perhaps what the business community wants.