KATHMANDU: Despite the government extending the deadline for the second time since 2022, local governments across the country have not been able to separate agricultural and non-agricultural land.
Out of 753 local governments, only 522 have classified and submitted details of agricultural and non-agricultural land, according to the Department of Survey (DoS).
Damodar Dhakal, the information officer of the DoS, said that even the local governments, which classified agricultural and non-agricultural land, have not submitted complete details. “This has caused difficulties in the practical implementation of the Land Use Policy introduced in 2022,” he added.
The Land Use Act, 2019, mandates the classification of land into 10 categories: agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, mining and minerals, forest, rivers, streams, ponds, wetlands, public use, and cultural and archaeological areas. Based on this law, the DoS had requested all local governments to classify land and submit details of agricultural and non-agricultural land.
“In the first phase, local governments were required to classify and submit details of agricultural and non-agricultural land. However, with only four months remaining, many local governments have not been able to submit full details,” he added.
The government had issued a circular in November 2022 for the classification of agricultural and non-agricultural areas in the first phase. According to Dhakal, all local governments must provide details of agricultural and non-agricultural land by mid-July.
The government initially provided six months for the government to complete land classification. Since the local governments failed to complete the task within the period, a second circular was issued in mid-July last year.
“Although some local governments in accessible areas have completed and submitted the details, they are not fully comprehensive. We have asked them to resend the details,” Dhakal said. “Many local governments have been seeking our assistance to complete land classification.”
According to government statistics, there are 3.091 million hectares of arable land across the country. The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation has said that the classification of agricultural and non-agricultural areas is aimed at conserving agricultural land.
The Land Use Regulations, 2022 stipulate that in the Kathmandu Valley, agricultural land plots smaller than 500 square meters cannot be fragmented, while in the Terai and Inner Madhesh, the limit is 675 square meters. In other areas, it is 1,000 square meters. Based on this, local governments have been instructed to classify and submit land details within the next four months.
Ministry Spokesperson Ganesh Prasad Bhatta said that local units have not yet submitted the classification of agricultural and non-agricultural land. He explained that the Land Use Act, 2019, and the Land Use Regulations, 2022, were introduced to conserve agricultural land, ensure proper land use, promote long-term development, and facilitate organized and secure housing, among other purposes.
Bhatta added that the lack of details on land classification has hindered the implementation of the policy. He added that all three levels of government are coordinating to expedite the process of land classification. “Efforts are being made to speed up the work through coordination among the three levels of government,” he added.
The Land Use Act also requires the classification of land for livestock farming, agricultural crop production, farmhouses, fish farming, beekeeping, sericulture, horticulture, medicinal herbs, and agroforestry under agricultural and non-agricultural categories.
