Land Reforms
THE House of Representatives, Lower House of Parliament, passed the Bill
concerning land reforms and management the other day which seeks to bring about
revolutionary changes and reforms in the existing land use and distribution system. The
Bill institutionalises the commitment expressed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba a
month ago, for revolutionary land reforms. The new amended Bill will lower the ceiling on
land holding and redistribute the land to the landless and poor farmers. His
Majesty’s Government took this bold decision with the objective of providing land to
farmers and increase productivity in agriculture. This move has been hailed by people from
various sectors as a historic move to uplift the condition of rural poor and raise
agricultural outputs, although some political parties have demanded to further lower the
ceiling on land. All political parties and demanded land reforms and distribution of land
to the landless and poor farmers. But none could do it when they went to power in the
past. Considering the demands and desire of the people and political forces of the
country, the present government was bold enough to bring about the much talked about land
reforms. This is an example that the present government is serious and responsible to the
people and wants to do away with all forms of social and economic discrimination and
disparity and rise the life of the people. Nepal is an agricultural country with more than
80 per cent people relying on agriculture for their survival. Agriculture has a
lion’s share in the country’s GDP and also in the export business. This, without
the improvement and development in the field of agriculture, national production cannot be
raised. If national production and income are not raised, sustainable social and economic
development of the country is not possible. Land reform is a must for increasing farm
production. In view of this, the land reforms measures taken by His Majesty’s
Government are, no doubt, revolutionary and historic. Now, parliament has approved the
Bill for land reforms, which would become law after it gets the Royal assent. There is a
more difficult task ahead for the government to properly and effectively implement the
Bill after it becomes the law of the land. If effectively implemented, it would, no doubt,
improve the life of the poor people living in the rural areas and also help in
revolutionising the country’s economy. Effective implementation of the same depends
on the co-operation and co-ordination among all political forces from central to
grassroots level. As the government is committed to bring about social and economic
transformation of the society by means of land reforms and other reforms programmes,
co-operation from other political forces is highly needed for its successful
imlementation.
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