207 local units express willingness to start survey, land revenue services

KATHMANDU: As many as 207 local governments have expressed interest in delivering land survey and land revenue services from the local level.

The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation had issued a notice a week ago inviting interested municipalities and rural municipalities to apply for providing survey and land revenue services locally.

Responding to the notice, 207 local units submitted applications to the ministry expressing their willingness by Thursday.

These include local units in rural areas such as Sarkegad Rural Municipality of Humla and Chulachuli Rural Municipality of Ilam; sub-metropolitan cities like Dharan, Ghorahi, and Dhangadhi; and metropolitan cities like Bhartapur and Pokhara.

The ministry plans to select a few local units and hand over survey and land revenue-related services to them in the first phase.

According to the secretariat of the Minister of Land Reforms, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation Pratibha Rawal, the local units will be selected based on service demand, accessibility, and management capacity. Priority will be given to areas with both lower congestion and those experiencing high service pressure, a member of the secretariat said.

Meanwhile, the ministry has sent letters to survey and land revenue officials in districts where the local units are based, instructing them to immediately conduct field inspections. It also said necessary arrangements will soon be made to equip local governments with the necessary technical resources and manpower to deliver the services.

“All preparations will be completed within a week, and survey and land revenue services will be transferred to the local units selected in the first phase.”