KATHMANDU: A three-point agreement has been reached between the National Land Commission and Bandarjhula Struggle Committee to address the demands raised by the Bandarjhula folks.
CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ took the lead to create enabling environment for the same.
The Bandarjhula folks had been demonstrating in Kathmandu for the past few days, demanding land ownership certificate of the land they had been residing for a long time.
Landless people and landless squatters residing at Bandarjhula which is situated at Madi Municipality-9 in Chitwan had been staging peaceful protest in Kathmandu.
CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairperson Dahal had held discussions with Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Sashi Shrestha, Madi Municipality mayor Thakur Prasad Dhakal, All Nepal Peasants’ Federation (Revolutionary)’s president and former constituent assembly member Chitra Bahadur Shrestha and Land Commission vice-chairperson Nahendra Khadka among others to resolve the issues relating to Bandarjhula’s landless people.
Based on the discussions held with the representatives from the landless people and government officials, a three-point agreement was signed between Commission’s vice chair Khadka and Struggle Committee’s coordinator Sharada Acharya.
Leader Dahal had assured the protesting Bandarjhula folks to provide them land and land ownership certificate and making ‘special’ efforts for the same.
The National Land Commission has been doing homework such as formulating procedure, action-plan among others to initiate date collection of the landless people across the country and to distribute land ownership card to them.
Commission’s vice-chair Khadka said that the Commission is making efforts to address the problems within the jurisdiction of the National Land Commission Formation Order-2078 BS, honouring the struggle of the Bandarjhula folks.
As per the three-point agreement, records of the landless Dalit, landless squatters and those living in unorganized settlements would be maintained within mid-March next year and proof of the land’s survey as requested in the application would be provided to the applicants.
Secondly, correspondence would be made with Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation and the government for facilitation in the concerned authorities to expedite electrification process in the Bandarjhula. Budget for the same has been already allocated.
Also, ban of the usage of tractor for farming in land and farm being used by Bandarjhula folks would be lifted and the farmers could use tractor hereafter.
The farmers at Bandarjhula had written to the Ministry of Forests and Environment and other concerned agencies to help create enabling environment for farming at Bandarjhula.
