Kathmandu – Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Balram Adhikari has said that if the land of Giribandhu Tea Estate in Jhapa is found to be used for other purposes, it will automatically belong to the government.

Speaking at the meeting of the Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resources Committee under the House of Representatives held at Singha Durbar on Tuesday, Minister Adhikari said that although the landowner can take ownership of the land within the limits, the rest will go to the government.

During a discussion with the lawmakers amending the Bill to amend the Land Act, 2082, on Tuesday, Minister Adhikari said that if the land of Giribandhu Tea Estate is used for other purposes, the land outside the limits will belong to the government.

Minister Adhikari said that there is a provision in the Terai that an individual can keep 10 bighas of land.

He said that the responsibility of identifying and classifying the landless has been given to the local level and the land will be distributed accordingly.

He said that the land distribution process will be carried out only in municipalities where landless Dalits and squatters have been classified.

The MPs who filed amendments to the bill suggested that the bill be moved forward in a way that would solve the problems of the real people, not the middlemen.

99 amendment proposals have been filed on the bill, which was made to amend some Nepal Acts related to land.