Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs, and General Administration Pratibha Rawal has pledged to begin the distribution of land ownership certificates to landless squatters from the third week of Ashadh (late June to early July).
Responding to questions raised by lawmakers regarding the ministry's budget during Wednesday’s House of Representatives meeting, Rawal said that the government is working with a new action plan to resolve the issue of landless squatters, News Agency Nepal reported.
She remarked that the problem remained unresolved for years because previous commissions served merely as centers for political appointments.
According to her, although 1.2 million applications have been submitted over the past 30 years, only 9,000 people have received land ownership certificates so far, a situation she described as shameful. She said that the government has therefore introduced structural reforms.
Rawal said that under the new arrangement, committees chaired by the chief district officer (CDO) at the district level will oversee landless squatter management, while a committee of experts will operate at the central level.
Regarding the cooperative sector, Minister Rawal clarified that not a single paisa from the state treasury has been spent on refunding depositors of troubled cooperatives. She reported that in the last three months, Rs 5.9 million was returned to 1,452 small depositors of eight troubled cooperatives.
According to Rawal, this amount was managed by freezing the assets and bank accounts of the cooperatives' directors and officials. During the same period, Rs 35.45 million in loans were recovered, and effective monitoring of cooperatives will be conducted in the coming days, the minister said.
Furthermore, Minister Rawal clarified that the budget for the Multi-sectoral Nutrition Program has been allocated based on the status of local levels. Local units with poor nutritional status were allocated Rs 3 million to Rs 3.5 million, those with moderate status received Rs 1.7 million to Rs 2 million, and those in relatively better condition were allocated Rs 300,000.
Regarding the Federal Civil Service Bill, which covers the age limit and terms of service for civil servants, she said that it has been sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs for review and will be finalized once it is presented in Parliament.
Furthermore, Minister Rawal said that the budget for the “Garib Sanga Bishweshwar” (Bishweshwar with the Poor) program has been allocated based on the number of social mobilizers. She also committed to completing the distribution of poverty identity cards in the remaining three districts and ensuring their access to state services and facilities.
She concluded by stating that the suggestions provided by lawmakers would be given high priority during the budget implementation process.
