Minister urges unified policy for landless, squatters, and informal settlers

KATHMANDU: Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Balram Adhikari, has stressed the need for a unified national policy to address the issues of landless people, squatters, and informal settlers.

Speaking at a meeting of the Agriculture, Cooperatives, and Natural Resources Committee under the House of Representatives on Thursday, Minister Adhikari said the government is preparing to propose the formation of a single commission to handle all matters related to landless citizens, squatters, and unmanaged settlements.

“The time has come to end the trend of forming separate commissions for similar issues. We are moving forward with the idea of one integrated body,” he said.

Minister Adhikari emphasized that local governments will be responsible for identifying landless and squatter populations. He added that to ensure the rights of these communities, policies and laws must be streamlined.

He further stated that the government is willing to take certain risks to resolve long-standing issues. “If landless or Dalit communities are living in high-risk areas, we are ready to relocate them to safer places. The concerned municipalities are working to allocate government land to those living in such areas,” he explained.

Although public land cannot legally be distributed, the minister said arrangements are being made to settle families on available government land classified as ‘ailani’ (unregistered state land).

The government is actively working on relocating vulnerable communities living in hazardous locations to safer areas, he concluded.