KATHMANDU, May 12: The Land Issue Resolving Commission (LIRC) has started collecting official data on squatters, landless individuals, and unmanaged settlers in Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the Kathmandu Valley.
Commission Vice-Chairperson and Spokesperson Sant Kumar Karki said the LIRC had invited applications from landless Dalits and squatters in the valley last year, but local bodies, including Kathmandu Metropolitan City, did not cooperate, preventing the LIRC from obtaining accurate data.
He said the LIRC received applications from only about 2,000 families last year. "This data is insufficient. We are now collecting official records," he said.
He added that the LIRC plans to invite applications again this year from squatters, landless individuals, and unmanaged settlers across all local levels in the Valley. "We have already signed agreements with local bodies, including Kathmandu Metropolitan City," he said.
Finance minister instructs commission to expedite distribution...
He explained that the LIRC will collect data through local governments. "We will first call for applications through the local units. If they don't cooperate, we will publish notices in national daily newspapers and collect the applications ourselves," he added.
He said only Ward No. 9 of Budhanilkantha Municipality has completed collecting data on squatters, landless individuals, and unmanaged settlers among all municipalities in the Valley. "So far, only Budhanilkantha Ward 9 has finished data collection. From the information we received, we identified 701 families in that ward as squatters, landless, or unmanaged settlers," he said. "We will now immediately start distributing land ownership certificates there."
The LIRC stated that 1.35 million squatter families across the country have applied for land ownership certificates for the land they currently occupy. So far, the LIRC has registered 1,096,400 of those applications in its system.
Of the registered applications, landless Dalits submitted 86,300, squatters submitted 167,000, and the remaining came from unmanaged settlers. The LIRC reported receiving the highest number of applications from Kailali district, where 130,000 families applied for land ownership certificates.
Spokesperson Karki said the commission is preparing to invite applications again for those who were left out. He added that the current LIRC has already been formed even in districts where no one submitted applications during the previous commission led by Keshav Niraula.
The latest data shows no squatter or unmanaged settler families in Humla and Eastern Rukum. However, the government has deployed LIRC staff, including amin (land surveyors) and survey officers, to districts where no applications have been submitted.
The Cabinet meeting on October 29 formed the central Land-Related Problem Resolution Commission (LRPRC) under Hari Prasad Rijal's leadership. This is the 23rd such commission. The government approved the Land-Related Problem Resolution Commission Formation Order on September 30 to establish the LRPRC.
Earlier, the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal dissolved the National Land Commission (NLC), which Keshav Niraula had formed on September 10, 2021, after the ruling coalition changed. The government decided to dissolve the NLC on March 21, 2024, and initiated the process to form a new commission. However, two central members of the old commission, Govardhan Koli and Tekbahadur Shahi, along with 17 others, filed a case in the Supreme Court on April 5, 2024, challenging the government's decision.
On April 7, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a short-term order, directing the government to maintain the status quo with Niraula's leadership and not form a new land commission. Following this, the process to form the new commission was halted. After the members who filed the case withdrew their lawsuit, the Cabinet passed an order to form the new commission.
The number of squatters in the Kathmandu Valley has increased significantly over the past 18 years. During this period, the number of families has risen from around 400 to an estimated 4,000. An employee of the Integrated Bagmati Civilization Development Committee, operating under the Ministry of Urban Development, said the this estimate was made following a study from the committee.
