Squatters’Problem
MINISTER for Land Reforms and Management
Siddha Raj Ojha said that the government is committed to solve the problem of landless
squatters once and for all. Replying to queries by lawmakers in the House of
Representatives the other day, Minister Ojha said that genuine landless squatters would be
identified, plots of land for housing distributed to them and skill development programmes
launched in-coordination with other ministries to ensure their means of livelihood.
Minister Ojha’s remarks carries the commitment of the government for ending the
problems related to landless squatters. As said by the Minister, government needs to give
serious consideration towards identification of genuine landless before taking any
decision regarding settlement and rehabilitation of landless squatters.
The issue of landless squatters has been a
national problem for years. The governments in the past, too, distributed land in order to
solve the problem. However, the number of landless squatters increased instead of
receding, which, thus, needs a serious study and attention. The issue pertaining to
landless squatters has been a political agenda for some political parties, who do not seem
to want the problem to be solved forever. The problem is getting acute every year because
some people with vested interests have taken the advantage in the name of landless
squatters. This is one of the main reasons why the problem is getting worse. There are
instances when some so-called landless squatters were able to reap the benefit from the
government’s plan of distribution of land whereas many genuine ones were deprived of
such facilities. As a result, there were many people who claimed to be landless and reaped
benefits in the past. In the name of settlement of landless squatters and resolution of
this problem, forests were cleared in several parts of the terai. But the problem was not
solved instead it increased. Against this background, the most important task for the
government is to identify the genuine landless squatters and make necessary arrangements
for their settlement. Thus, it now requires thorough investigation of the distribution of
land plots in the name of landless squatters in the past and land distributed to other
people in the name of landless be confiscated, which can be redistributed to genuine
landless. This alone would help solve the problem permanently. Otherwise, this would
continue to remain as a chronic national problem.
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