Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal, which has taken a firm stance against allowing the Land Bill to pass in its current form, has registered a 10-point amendment proposal on the Bill.
Expressing its disagreement with the Bill, JSP Nepal has submitted the 10-point proposal in both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.
Earlier, the government had planned to amend the land-related laws through an ordinance. However, it was forced to retreat after JSP Nepal refused to support it. The government then dropped the ordinance and introduced the Bill to amend the land laws.
JSP Nepal has said that the passage of the Bill in its current form would lead to widespread deforestation, threaten biodiversity and destabilize the demographic balance in the Madhesh region. “If the Bill is passed without changes, it would result in environmental destruction and encourage internal conflict due to a sharp increase in population density in the Tarai-Madhesh. It will marginalize indigenous Madhesi, Tharu, Muslim and other local communities, pushing them into minority status in their own homeland,” it added.
The party further argued that the Bill paves the way for legalizing the illegal occupation of public land, including riverbanks, forests, national parks, wildlife reserves, buffer zones, and public spaces such as marketplaces and grazing grounds. “Distributing such encroached land to illegal settlers is fundamentally wrong,” JSP Nepal said.
JSP Nepal also questioned the logic of spending state resources on forest offices and conservation if the government continues to legalize illegal activities through legislation. “If the law continues to validate illegal actions, what is the purpose of forest protection institutions funded by the national treasury?” the party questioned.
