The first Cabinet meeting of Prime Minister Balendra Shah unveiled a ‘100-point governance reform agenda’ for the newly formed government on March 27.

This roadmap for reform covers a range of issues, from drafting legislation in Parliament to administrative improvements in service delivery. Notably, the list includes a commitment to dissolve political party-affiliated trade unions with the goal of making public administration “free from interference.”

However, the government has yet to reclaim public land and physical structures previously granted to party-affiliated unions through past Cabinet decisions. Unions associated with the CPN-UML, Nepali Congress, the former Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist (now the Nepali Communist Party after the merger of both parties), and the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) continue to operate party and trade union activities from buildings constructed on government land.

Despite legal provisions stating that public assets granted for free use must be converted into mandatory leases—with occupants required to pay rental fees to the state—compliance has been negligible, hindered by the “backing of influence, power, and the ruling elite.”

The first Cabinet meeting following Shah’s appointment as prime minister took the decision to abolish party-linked trade unions. To facilitate this, the government is preparing to introduce a Civil Service Act through an ordinance. Point 12 of the 100-point agenda, approved by the Cabinet, states: “Public administration shall be made free from political interference, ensuring it is impartial, neutral, and accountable to citizens. To this end, civil servants, teachers, professors, and all public servants must perform their duties free from direct or indirect affiliation with any party, group, or interest centre, with strict departmental action taken under existing laws for violations.” It further notes the goal to “abolish party trade unions in public administration to end unwanted interference and informal pressure, making decision-making and service delivery more effective.” The Cabinet said that necessary legal provisions, particularly the Federal Civil Service Bill, shall be drafted within 45 days to ensure smooth implementation.

A policy reform proposal introduced by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation through a Cabinet decision on July 7, 2022, states that all organisations currently using government land must convert to a ‘lease’ model and pay periodic fees, failing which the government will reclaim the land. Furthermore, the conditions for such leases include detailed property descriptions, terms of use, minimum bidding prices, cash deposits or bank guarantees (at 5 percent of the bid), and a mandatory annual rent increase of at least 5 percent.

Organisations that previously held free land-use rights were required to transition under these provisions. However, years after the bylaws were introduced, the government has failed to implement its own policy. Following the Shah Cabinet’s recent approval of the governance reform framework—which includes the abolition of the unions—the debate has resurfaced over how the government will re-establish control over land currently being occupied in violation of the law. In April 2025, the policy was amended to include federal, provincial, and local levels, adding several provisions related to leasing government land, yet land-use rights for trade unions remain unconverted.

Political activities on public land

Various political parties and their trade unions are operating from structures built on government property. Notably, the central office of the UML is located on government land in Chyasal, Lalitpur. A Cabinet meeting under Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba’s premiership on March 23, 2002 granted land-use rights for 12 ropani, 6 ana, 5 paisa and 3 dam of land (approximately 68,257.8 square feet) in Chyasal to the Tulsi Lal Memorial Foundation, an organisation intended for political and social research. The foundation constructed a large building on this state land and has now provided it to the UML to run the party.

Despite being granted the land for social purposes, the foundation has leased the structure to the UML in violation of the agreement. Under the ‘Working Policy on Registration, Use, and Leasing of Government Land, 2022’, organisations previously granted use rights were legally required to convert to a lease and pay the state. The foundation should have transitioned to a lease under these provisions.

The UML’s central office moved to the Chyasal premises on April 22, 2022. It was revealed at the time that a ‘bilateral understanding’ had been reached to use the structure for five years at a monthly rent of Rs400,000, although both parties have kept the details of this agreement confidential.

Before moving to Chyasal, the UML (and later the Nepal Communist Party, formed after its merger with the Maoists) operated from the Pasang Lhamu Foundation in Dhumbarahi, also on government land. Following the April 2015 earthquake, which destroyed the Balkhu office, the UML moved to the Pasang Lhamu premises under an agreement to pay Rs225,000 in monthly rent.

On February 20, 2007, the Cabinet led by Girija Prasad Koirala granted 4 ropani and 5 ana (approximately 23,615.25 square feet) of land adjacent to the main road in Dhumbarahi for free use to build a foundation in memory of mountaineer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa. Despite opposition to the foundation allowing a party office on the site in breach of its terms, no action was taken against those involved.

Similarly, on February 16, 2012, the Baburam Bhattarai-led Cabinet granted 1 ropani (approximately 5,476 square feet) of government land each near the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation complex at Babarmahal to the ‘Nepal Madheshi Civil Servants’ Union’ (affiliated with the then Loktantrik Samajbadi Party led by Mahantha Thakur) and the ‘Nepal Civil Service Union’ (affiliated with Congress). The Madheshi union built a structure called ‘Madhesh Bhawan’, where Thakur’s party subsequently carried out both trade-union and party activities. Even after their recent merger with the Janata Samajbadi Party, political activities continue there.

The central office of the Congress-aligned Nepal Civil Service Employees Union is also located on government land near the union’s office. Furthermore, the office of the Congress-aligned Nepal Teachers’ Association is situated on government land near the Pasang Lhamu Foundation in Dhumbarahi. On 1 ropani and 10 ana (approximately 8,898.5 square feet) of government land, the association has constructed a building where it rents out the ground floor to a restaurant while conducting party-related activities upstairs.

Additionally, the ‘Nepal Government Employees Organisation’, aligned with the UML, is located in a building on government land directly in front of the southern gate of Singha Durbar. On November 8, 2011, the Cabinet granted 1 ropani (5,476 square feet) of land to the UML-aligned organisation for free use, where a large building has since been constructed for party-linked activities. The office of the ‘Nepal National Civil Servants’ Employees Association’, affiliated with the then Maoists (now the Nepali Communist Party), operates from a government building in Babarmahal, granted through a May 6, 2011, Cabinet decision. The then CPN (Unified Socialist) also established the ‘Integrated Government Employees’ Organisation’ in a Department of Urban Development building near Singha Durbar while in government. At the time, Ram Kumari Jhakri, then a secretary of the Unified Socialist (now a UML leader), served as minister for urban development and provided the department building to the party-affiliated organisation.

Legal enforcement and resistance

Officials at the Ministry of Land Management say they will now move to implement the Cabinet’s decision. Madan Bhujel, secretary at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, said that although the government introduced the Working Policy on Registration and Leasing of Government Land in July 2022 to convert use rights into leases and issued public notices requesting organisations to comply, most have failed to do so. He said there are now no legal hurdles to reclaiming these structures.

“Immediately after the policy was introduced, the ministry issued a public notice requesting the relevant parties to convert their land-use rights into leases. Although a few organisations came forward, many did not,” Bhujel told the Post. “Now, those who did not comply must vacate. We will complete the necessary process and take decisions accordingly.”

Clause 21, sub-clause 7 of the land-use procedures states that the government is empowered to seize land from occupants who fail to transition to a lease within the specified timeframe. If structures have been built on land where use rights have expired, the Government of Nepal can take possession of those as well. The policy stipulates that such land and structures should be registered in the government’s name, with the termination of use rights noted in the ownership records.

However, Bhola Nath Pokharel, former vice-president of the Authorised Union of Civil Service Employees Nepal, argues that it is wrong for the government to threaten removal when unions are operating from structures built on land legally granted by the state. He labelled the incumbent government’s move a “stunt”.

“The government gave land-use rights to trade unions affiliated with the UML, Congress, the then Maoists, and Madheshi parties, and institutional activities are being carried out there. To try to remove them now as a ‘stunt’ is wrong,” said Pokharel, who is also currently a central committee member of the UML. “It is wrong to say the government gives it one day and takes it away the next. Instead, the law to convert use rights into leases should be followed, and unions should be encouraged to transition. Inviting ‘confrontation’ by threatening removal benefits no one.”

When asked why they had failed to comply with the transition to the lease model previously, Pokharel declined to comment.