Chaudandigadhi distributes land ownership certificates

By Our Correspondent

Gaighat, May 17: Chaudandigadhi Municipality has started distributing temporary land ownership certificates to landless Dalits, squatters and unmanaged settlers in an effort to address long-standing land ownership issues.

Mayor of the municipality, Kaluman Lama, distributed temporary land rights certificates to 65 households living in the Hile Khola and Dhappar settlements of Ward No. 8. The families have been using government and unmanaged land for decades for settlement and livelihood purposes.

The municipality launched the initiative just days after the government issued a circular directing the clearance of houses and huts built on public land. 

Local authorities said the temporary certificates were intended to help manage and regularise settlements of landless and unmanaged residents. With the distribution of the certificates, locals said they had gained new hope and confidence for securing permanent settlement rights.

Mayor Lama said residents who had occupied and used the land for generations now felt recognised as permanent residents after receiving the “Land Ownership Registration Certificate” from the local government for the first time.

He said land-related problems in Nepal remained old and complex. People who migrated from various hill and Tarai districts had been living for decades on government, public and forest land, building homes, paying taxes and contributing to society, yet they had not received legal recognition as landowners. According to the municipality, some families in Chaudandigadhi have been occupying land since 1971 BS, but still do not possess land ownership certificates. Without legal documents, many residents have long been living in fear of eviction.

The municipality said the certificates were issued after field studies, monitoring, land measurement, record verification and map preparation based on proof that families had occupied the land for at least 10 years. According to data from the municipality’s land section, records have been collected for 10,120 households, including 534 landless families, 1,243 landless squatters and 8,343 unmanaged settlers. 

Land measurement, mapping and record preparation have already been completed for nearly 4,000 households, while the process of distributing land possession certificates has moved forward for around 2,500 families. Mayor Lama said 74 families in Ward No. 6, 141 families in Ward No. 2 and 65 families in Ward No. 8 have already received the temporary land rights certificates. 

He added that the certificates would serve as an important legal basis for obtaining permanent land ownership certificates in the future and would give residents greater confidence as permanent settlers.