Dispute delays land certificate distribution in Banke

By Govind Sharma,Banke, Aug. 16: In Banke, as the Land Problem Settlement Commission rapidly distributes land ownership certificates, a dispute has arisen over hundreds of bighas of land in a previously designated resettlement area, which is claimed to fall within the jurisdiction of the National Housing Company Limited.

As a result, locals’ long-standing dream of obtaining land ownership certificates for the land they have been cultivating for years seems to remain unfulfilled. The ward chairperson and spokesperson of Khajura Municipality Ward No. 2, Dhanram Oli Chhetri, said that hundreds of farmers have been unable to obtain land certificates for a long time due to disputes among farmers, the housing company, and the government over ownership of cleared forest land being used for agriculture.

Oli explained that approximately four thousand bighas of land in Khajura Rural Municipality is being claimed by the current housing company, which was formerly a rehabilitation company.

“This time, the Land Commission has surveyed only the land of Ward No. 7 Goswara, leaving aside the land claimed by the housing company,” Oli said. “It seems the dispute will continue until the government makes a policy decision through the Council of Ministers.”

Although locals have high expectations from the commission and the local government, the problem cannot be resolved until the central government decides on the matter, Oli said. According to him, 132 farmers from Khajura-2, formerly the Sitapur Village Development Committee, paid approximately Rs. 4 million to the housing company in installments in 2012 for land acquisition; however, they have yet to receive their land certificates. A government gazette published in August 2023, states that the land will remain in the name of the old rehabilitation company within specified boundaries. The current housing company argues that since the gazette lists the land under its name, it should be entitled to collect revenue and distribute certificates.

Surya Bhakta Adhikari, head of the National Housing Company Limited’s project office in Bardiya, said the company has been operating in the border area for years and that no other body is allowed to work there. “The housing company has been recommending land ownership certificates at the land revenue office at the government rate, and we remit 20 per cent of the government rate to the concerned municipality for local development and construction,” Adhikari said.

According to him, there is land in the name of the housing company currently being used by locals in Radhapur, Sitapur, Bageshwari, Udhurapur, and Sonpur, as well as in the former Bankatuwa VDC of Baijnath.

Based on this, Khajura Rural Municipality argues that locals and the Land Commission should be allowed to distribute certificates after taking 10 per cent of the government rate as revenue, following proper measurement.

Since the housing company is issuing ownership certificates after collecting 100 per cent of the government rate as revenue, there has been strong dissatisfaction among locals, further complicating the issue. The former chairperson of Sitapur Village Development Committee, Manbahadur Oli, said that despite repeatedly urging the government on behalf of farmers to bring the land under the Resettlement Authority for certificate distribution, there has been no response.

Ghan Nath Khanal, chairperson of the Land Problem Settlement Commission, said the commission is calling for the land claimed by the resettlement company to be brought under government authority so that it could be measured and certificates could be distributed. The commission has also filed a case in the High Court of Tulsipur, Nepalgunj, seeking permission to measure the land claimed by the housing company and issue certificates.