Land dispute delays ownership certificates in Banke

BANKE, AUGUST 16 – A land dispute has emerged in Banke as the Land Problem Settlement Commission works to issue land ownership certificates to locals. Hundreds of bighas of land in a former resettlement area are claimed by the National Housing Company Limited, delaying ownership for farmers who have been cultivating the land for years.

Dhanram Oli Chhetri, ward chairperson and spokesperson of Khajura Municipality Ward No. 2, said that hundreds of farmers have been waiting for land certificates due to disagreements between the farmers, the housing company, and the government over cleared forest land used for farming.

Oli said the housing company, which was previously a rehabilitation company, claims about four thousand bighas in Khajura Rural Municipality. “The Land Commission has only surveyed Ward No. 7 Goswara and left out the land claimed by the housing company,” he added. “The dispute will likely continue until the government makes a policy decision through the Council of Ministers.”

Locals had high hopes that the commission and local government would resolve the issue, but the problem cannot be settled without a decision from the central government, Oli said. In 2012, 132 farmers from Khajura-2, formerly Sitapur Village Development Committee, paid roughly Rs. 4 million to the housing company for land acquisition but have yet to receive certificates.

A government gazette published in August 2023 states that the land remains under the old rehabilitation company within specified boundaries. The current housing company argues that because the gazette lists the land in its name, it has the right to collect revenue and issue certificates.

Surya Bhakta Adhikari, head of the National Housing Company Limited’s Bardiya project office, said the company has operated in the border area for years and no other body is allowed there. “We recommend land certificates at the government rate, and 20 percent of that rate is sent to the municipality for local development,” he said.

Adhikari added that some of the land in the company’s name is currently used by locals in Radhapur, Sitapur, Bageshwari, Udhurapur, Sonpur, and the former Bankatuwa VDC of Baijnath.

Khajura Rural Municipality argues that the Land Commission and locals should be allowed to issue certificates after taking 10 percent of the government rate as revenue, following proper measurement.

Since the housing company charges 100 percent of the government rate for certificates, local dissatisfaction has grown, complicating the situation further. Former Sitapur VDC chairperson Manbahadur Oli said the government has not responded to repeated requests to bring the land under the Resettlement Authority for certificate distribution.

Ghan Nath Khanal, chairperson of the Land Problem Settlement Commission, said the commission is asking the government to bring the land under its authority so it can be measured and certificates issued. 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 distribute ownership certificates.