Himal Hub / The government has announced that it will resolve the issue of landless squatters and unorganized settlers within 1,000 days.
According to data received by the commission, out of the total registered families, 914,618 are unorganized settlers, 175,109 are landless squatters, and 96,339 are landless Dalit families.
The government has stated that it will complete an integrated digital survey and verification of all landless squatters and unorganized settlers across the country within 60 days.
A cabinet meeting held on March 13 approved a 100-point governance reform agenda, which includes resolving the landless squatters’ issue within 1,000 days. The plan outlines conducting household surveys in coordination with local governments, establishing clear eligibility criteria (including cut-off dates, income levels, and asset ownership), and updating records of public, barren, and trust lands.
The government also plans to prepare GIS (Geographical Information System) based digital databases, conduct mapping of government and unregistered land, and identify genuine beneficiaries. Verified landless families will be provided land in phases, while those in densely populated urban areas may be resettled through integrated housing projects.
The Land Problem Resolution Commission has so far registered 1,152,870 landless and unorganized families.
Land ownership certificates remain a major political issue in Nepal, consistently raised in party manifestos and election campaigns. Parties have repeatedly promised to address the problem, but implementation has remained limited.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has proposed establishing a land rights authority, using satellite mapping and digital bio-metric verification to identify genuine landless citizens, and distributing land ownership certificates accordingly.
Despite decades of promises by successive governments, the landless issue remains unresolved, with land rights activists arguing that meaningful progress has yet to be made.
