The government has issued the Land Use Regulations, dividing land into
10 zones on the basis of its features.
At a press meet organised
here today, Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation
Shashi Shrestha issued the Regulations and informed about the classification
of land.
Land has been categorised as agricultural zone,
residential zone, commercial zone, industrial zone, area of mines and
minerals, forest zone, public use zone, area of cultural and archaeological
importance, among others based on its topographic features, efficiency and
utility of land, existing use and necessity.
According to Minister
Shrestha, the regulations prohibit commercial land plotting and its sale in
areas except in classified areas for residential purposes.
She
expressed hope regarding the implementation of the regulations as it was
issued in coordination with the stakeholders concerned.
The
Regulations' provision has it that the federal level will have to deal with
land use mapping procedures across the country and hand it to the local level
which can revise and update the mapping as per its needs and implement it.
Similarly,
one land zone may have sub-zones such as grains production sub-zone and fruits
production sub-zone, according to Minister Shrestha.
The
regulations grant the right to land owner to go to a court if the party finds
the classification unconvincing.
According to Minister Shrestha,
the federal, province and local levels are required to prepare land use plans
and the province is required not to prepare a plan that would challenge the
federal plan and the local level is required not to contradict with the
province plan. The achievement data of mapping shall be maintained.
Likewise,
the regulations do not entertain the use of land classified into one category
for another purpose and the land use classification is changeable through due
process.
Similarly, the federal government can alter land use if
valuable minerals are found in the land use zone or if priority projects are
to be operated on it for any other plausible reason such as challenges seen in
international border security, development, tourism, world heritage sites,
among others.
The local level can change the land use for the
purpose of disaster risk management, shifting insecure settlements, preparing
the basis and criteria required for regulating and checking land plotting and
demarcation. Provision has also been made for implementation of land pooling
programme for the purpose of mechanisation of agricultural land.
.
source:2
June 2022, The Himalayan Times
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