Government has deprived landless people of their constitutional right to land: Pokharel

KATHMANDU: CPN-UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel has criticized the government for scrapping the Land Commission, saying it has effectively taken away the constitutional right of hundreds of thousands of landless citizens to own land.

Posting on Facebook this morning, Pokharel questioned how the government could accept the previous administration’s policies, programs, and budget, yet reject the Land Commission established under the same framework.

He said dissolving the commission was equivalent to abolishing the constitutional rights guaranteed to the landless, squatters, unmanaged settlers, and landless Dalit communities.

Thousands of squatters who were in the process of receiving land ownership certificates (Lalpurja) have been left disappointed after the Cabinet meeting earlier this week decided to dissolve the commission.

The government, in its Cabinet meeting on 23 Ashwin, announced the dissolution of the Land Commission along with all its district-level committees.

The previous government had formed the Land Problem Resolution Commission on 13 Kartik last year under the leadership of Hariprasad Rizal.