The government has prepared the Bill to Amend Certain Nepal Acts Relating to Land, 2083, proposing changes to the Land Act, 2021; Guthi Corporation Act, 2033; Land Revenue Act, 2034; and Land Use Act, 2076. The bill is aimed at making land administration more effective, expanding responsibilities at the local level and resolving long-running problems involving landless households and informal settlements.

A significant amendment concerns landless Dalits, landless squatters and unorganized settlers. The bill provides for government-appointed committees or taskforces at the central and district levels to identify eligible households, assess land, conduct field studies and recommend land distribution or settlement arrangements. It also proposes mechanisms to address ownership and registration issues arising from decisions made by previous land-related commissions and bodies.

The bill would also decentralize several land administration functions to local governments, including specified work relating to registration, ownership transfer, record updates, cancellation of records and the imposition or removal of restrictions on property. It proposes renaming existing “Land Revenue Offices” as Land Administration Offices and “Land Revenue Officers” as Land Administration Officers, reflecting a broader administrative mandate. Changes to the Guthi law would additionally allow land-pooling arrangements involving eligible land under projects run by federal, provincial or local governments.

Amendments to the Land Use Act would strengthen the role of local land-use councils in reviewing changes in land classification, while establishing procedures for cases requiring higher-level consideration. The government says the package is intended to improve land governance, protect housing-related rights, facilitate productive land use and help resolve disputes involving informal and unorganized settlements.