HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Proceedings smooth
House decides to discuss Land Reform Bill-2058

RITU RAJ SUBEDI

Kathmandu, Sept. 6: House of Representatives today endorsed by a majority vote the proposal of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba seeking the consideration of Land Reform Bill (Fifth Amendment)-2058 in the Parliament. This paved the way for discussion on the Bill in the House.

The proceeding of the House of Representatives today went smoothly after almost three weeks of disruption by the lawmakers of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP) over their demand of the ceiling on the property along with the ceiling on land holding.

In today’s meeting, the RPP and NSP MPs boycotted the House and reiterated that they would stick to the demand to impose a ceiling on the property and would continue with their protest programmes for the same purpose.

They said that they would not want to hamper the discussion on the Appropriation Bill taking into consideration the critical condition of the country’s economy.

In his reply to the queries of the MPs regarding the Bill, Prime Minister Deuba said about one million landless people would get land after the implementation of the proposed land reform package.

"The Bill does not centre only on putting the ceiling on landholdings, but it clearly emphasises on the increase of productivity of the agricultural sector," Deuba told the House of Representatives. The tenets have themselves to labour hard for enhancing productivity, he said.

He said that the Bill contains the provisions like providing fertilisers, agricultural tools, seed and irrigation to the farmers for the increase of productivity.

Premier Deuba said that the Bill has been a target from the different sections of the people. "However, I have taken such protests positively," he noted, adding, "The protests justify that I have brought the good programme."

Deuba also expressed the confidence that he would receive the co-operation from the lawmakers in this regard.

Before the boycotting House meet, Pashupati Shumsher Rana of RPP and Rajendra Mahato of NSP, speaking at the Special Hour of the meeting, argued that the proposed land reform programme would not benefit the poor and the landless people of the country.

Saying that they are in the favour of a people-oriented land reform, the protesting MPs, who had led the walk out, said that there would not be social justice until the government put a ceiling on property as well.

Hinting at the rampant corruption, Rana even went on to say that those who wore sandals till yesterday have now become owners of airlines.

While the non-communist MPs of the opposition bench walked out the House, the Left MPs, who dominated the opposition bench, remained within but lambasted the ceiling on landholding proposed by government which they say was too high.

Taking part in the discussion of the Bill, the opposition lawmakers said that the proposed land reform would not provide any relief to the landless, poor and exploited classes of the country since the government would not receive even a piece of land under the proposed ceiling.

They argued that the government’s land reform was not a revolutionary one, rather it would continue serving the interest of the landlords. The Left MPs demanded that the government should put a ceiling of four-and-a-half bigha in the Terai as prescribed by the Badal Commission.

CPN-UML MP Bharat Mohan Adhikari said that the government had broken a 17-point agreement made with the UML. He said that the government had agreed to implement the Badal Commission for a sweeping land reform programme in the country.

Adhikari also pointed out that the Bill has not mentioned about ending the duel ownership on land in the interest of the tenants. He also suggested on rectifying the shortcomings in the Bill by rising above the party interest.

A host of other UML MPs who spoke, including Ananda Pokharel, Pradeep Gyawali, Suresh Kumar Karki, Tara Samyang, Shankar Nath Adhikari, Urmila Aryal and Nara Bahadur Hamal, also criticised the government’s proposed land reform programme.

Lilamani Pokharel of United Peoples’ Front Nepal and Hari Acharya of National People’s Front said that the proposed land reform would not benefit the real farmers. They demanded with the government to reduce the ceiling on the landholdings and for free distribution of the land to the landless.

Pokharel and Acharya also said that the classification of the land was unscientific and added the Bill did not mention about industrialisation of agriculture and development of co-operative in the rural areas.

Naryanman Bijuchchhe of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party said that Bill would ultimately help the landlords to aggrandise more and more land. He said that the ownership of land should pass on to those who till it.

But, countering the Opposition parties argument, Nepali Congress MP Dr. Ram Baran Yadav said that the government had introduced the Bill by making a detailed scientific study on land throughout the country.

Stating that fragmentation of land would technically hamper farm management and, thus, decrease productivity, Dr. Yadav justified that the present ceiling would help increase productivity as well as establish social justice in the country.

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