President Ramchandra Paudel issued two amendment ordinances in Nepal on Tuesday, approving the Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2083, and the Land (Amendment) Ordinance, 2083, on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. Land Management, Cooperatives and Federal Affairs Minister Pratibha Rawal said the ordinances have removed legal obstacles to addressing the problems of landless Dalits, landless squatters and unmanaged settlers.
Two ordinances issued after Cabinet recommendation
The ordinances followed a Cabinet meeting held on Ashoj 23, which recommended three ordinances to the President. The two announced on Tuesday concern amendments to forest and land laws. The Cabinet’s recommendation also included an ordinance related to disaster laws, though the Tuesday announcement named only the land and forest measures.
The President issued both ordinances on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. The development marks a legal step toward addressing land-related problems identified by Minister Rawal, including those faced by landless Dalits, landless squatters and people described as unmanaged settlers.
The announcement provides the names and year of the two measures, but does not set out their individual provisions. It also does not specify how the amendments will be implemented, what processes will be used to address the affected groups’ cases, or what timelines may apply. Those details were not included in the information released alongside the announcement.
Minister says legal hurdles have been removed
Minister Rawal said the legal obstacles to resolving the problems of the three groups had now been removed. Her statement frames the land ordinance as addressing barriers to finding solutions for people who lack land or whose settlement situations are considered unmanaged.
The statement does not detail the nature of the legal hurdles or explain which procedures or institutions will handle cases following the ordinance. It also does not provide figures on the number of people or households affected. The immediate significance described by the minister is that the legal obstacles to resolving these problems have been removed.
The Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2083, was issued alongside the land measure, but no specific forest-sector changes were described in the available announcement. The Cabinet had recommended three ordinances at its Ashoj 23 meeting, including one related to disaster laws; Tuesday’s issuance notice identified the land and forest ordinances.
The two measures now give the government a legal instrument to pursue the issues highlighted by Rawal, although the announcement does not spell out the next steps. Further details on the amendments and their application will be needed to clarify how the ordinances affect landless Dalits, squatters and unmanaged settlers. The announcement was reported by Nepal Press.
