17 Unsettled Residents in Jhapa Receive Land Ownership Certificates

Jhapa. Seventy-two-year-old Joharman Limbu, who left the Himalayan settlement of Lelep in Taplejung four decades ago and came to the Terai, had a single dream—a piece of land of his own ownership.

Due to not having a land ownership certificate for the land he used, Joharman had the same worry in his mind for years—when would the government evict him.

On Thursday, when he was handed over the land ownership certificate at a program organized in Arjundhara Municipality, his eyes welled up. "Although it's late, I got the certificate," he said emotionally. Not just Joharman, Sapana Siwa Darji and Umadevi Tamang of Laxmidhap, Arjundhara-11, were equally happy.

Seventeen unsettled residents of Laxmidhap, Arjundhara-11, including Joharman, Sapana, and Uma Devi, received land ownership certificates from the District Land Problem Resolution Committee, Jhapa on Thursday.

At the program, Deputy Mayor of Arjundhara Municipality, Khadgamaya Parajuli, said that she herself came from an unsettled resident background and understood the pain of the landless. "This is not just a piece of paper, it is the end of insecurity experienced for generations," she said.

Chief Guest and Member of Parliament Indir Rana, while handing over certificates to 17 people, said that the government's policy is not to displace anyone except those in risky settlements.

According to Baldevsingh Gomden Tamang, Mayor of Arjundhara Municipality, 144 people in Ward No. 11 have already received land ownership certificates.

The municipality has moved forward with the process of distributing certificates to 729 landless squatters, 212 landless Dalits, and 6,359 unsettled residents. Mayor Tamang informed that technical and administrative staff have been mobilized even on public holidays to quickly bring the campaign to a conclusion.

According to Shiva Ram Gelal, Chairman of the District Land Problem Resolution Committee Jhapa and Chief District Officer, the administration is vigilant in distributing certificates only to the actual beneficiaries.

According to Shiva Prasad Lamsal, Chief of the Survey Office and Member-Secretary of the District Land Problem Resolution Committee, the process of distributing certificates has been initiated in all local levels of the district. Today, five unsettled residents of Mechinagar are also being provided with land ownership registration certificates.