Land reform commission within 15 days

Land reform commission within 15 days
ekantipur, 29-Nov-08

The government on Saturday pledged to form a high level land reform commission with representatives from the protesting landless people within two weeks to solve all problems of the landless.

The protestors have ended their protest after government spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communications Krishna Bahadur Mahara signed a four-point agreement with the National Land Rights Forum (NLRF), the organisation of landless people.

For the past 13 days, 144 landless people from 42 districts had been staging a sit-in protest at the Open Theatre demanding formation of a high-level commission to solve their problems.

"We are hopeful the government will implement the agreement," said Baldev Ram, the chairman of NLRF. "We have withdrawn our protest programmes from today."

"Government will implement the recommendations of the commission and end the existing feudal land ownership system," said Minister Mahara.

"We are serious and committed to solving the problems of landless people."

The commission will identify the tillers, sharecroppers and landless squatters and provide them agricultural land required for their livelihood. It will also have the authority to put a ceiling on land ownership and distribute land holdings above it to the peasants working on them.

It would also recommend ways of comprehensive land redistribution, agricultural assistance and reforms in land administration of the country.

According to Nepal Agricultural Survey 2001, there are 1,037,000 people with less than 0.02 hectares of land. The NLRF has said there are around 217,000 landless people in the country.

In the newly inked agreement, the government has pledged to abrogate the old land act and bring a people-oriented land act addressing the issues related to land.

The high-level commission on land reforms is one of the several commissions yet to be formed as per past agreements between political parties.

Also on Saturday, Minister Mahara assured ex-kamaiyas who were staging a sit-in at the Open Theatre to form a high- level commission to rehabilitate them.

Prime Minister Dahal also assured the agitators that the government would address their demands while meeting with their representatives.

Minister Mahara said that an agreement would be signed with them on Sunday after necessary paperwork is done.