While President Ramchandra Paudel issued four ordinances on Monday upon the Cabinet’s recommendation, the proposed ordinance to amend the Land Act 1964, the Forest Act 2019 and the National Park Act 1973 was halted.

“Given that the ordinance related to the land, forests and national parks is of public interest and also sensitive, the President halted it for further study,” Kiran Pokharel, press adviser to President Paudel, told the Post. “The decision on the ordinance will be taken later, after studying the existing legal arrangements and the Supreme Court’s precedent.”

The ordinance envisions providing free ownership to landless Dalits and squatters who have built houses and lived on public land for a long time. The ordinance also has provisions to grant land ownership to squatters by charging prescribed fees.

Devi Gyawali, former chair of the National Land Commission, says the Land and Forest Act policies are entangled, so they must be eased.

“The Land Act provides that land unused for more than ten years where there are zero agricultural-related activities can be distributed to landless people,” Gyawali said. “However, the Forest Act even claims riverbanks as parts of the forest. This has made land distribution among the landless difficult for a long time.”

Gyawali, a CPN-UML leader, was appointed chair of the Land Commission by the KP Sharma Oli government in 2019. Gyawali also claims that the government-recommended ordinances related to Land and Forests were intended to clarify policy ambiguities.

A source said the ordinance provides for government and public lands to be distributed to the landless people with the registration certificate. “To expedite the work based on the Land Commission’s recommendations, the government had recommended the ordinance to the President.”

Since the land to be distributed this way also falls within the forest area, the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the government also proposed an amendment to the Forest Act.

“Understandably, the President is in no hurry to endorse it as the issue related to the distribution of government land, which is heavily politicised in matters related to squatters, was also part of the ordinance,” said a source close to the President’s office.

The same source further claimed that the ordinance also allows real estate agents and companies to hold land beyond the current legal limit and to sell the land they could not sell earlier.

The source added that since land-related issues are sensitive in nature, they are better dealt with in Parliament rather than through the ordinance.

The legislation approved by the President includes an Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Promoting Good Governance and Public Service Delivery (2025); the Economic Procedure and Financial Accountability (First Amendment) Ordinance (2025); the Privatisation (First Amendment) Ordinance (2025); and the Ordinance to Amend Certain Nepal Acts Related to Improving the Economic and Business Environment and Enhancing Investments (2025).

While the opposition parties have been demanding the commencement of the House’s winter session to discuss various issues, including the passage of the bills required to make service delivery more efficient, the government recommended that the President issue the ordinances on Friday.