A year after the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML formed the coalition government pledging good governance, swift service delivery and constitution amendment, their failure to push through the much-debated amendment to the Land Act 1964 has exposed deep fissures within the ruling alliance.

Sharp division between Congress lawmakers and Land Management Minister Balaram Adhikari of the UML has stalled the bill and boosted the opposition parties’ protest against the bill.

The KP Sharma Oli government made its first attempt to amend the land-related law through an ordinance in January.

A Cabinet meeting in January had recommended five ordinances to President Ramchandra Paudel for endorsement. The head of state, however, issued only four of them while halting the land-related ordinance after some of the provisions included in it courted widespread criticism. Later, the President issued it but only after the prime minister committed to address them when the government would introduce a regular bill in the House.

Later, the government presented the land bill in the federal parliament. However, due to a lack of consensus between the ruling parties regarding the provisions mentioned in the bill, it was withdrawn after being scheduled as the agenda of the House of Representatives and was forwarded to the lower House committee for further deliberation.

The government had to remove the bill from the agenda after lawmakers including Nepali Congress General Secretary Bishwo Prakash Sharma objected to the plan to endorse it from the House plenary without holding a thorough discussion on the disputed provisions.

However, the committee’s multiple efforts to reach a consensus on the bill have yielded no results.

On Saturday, the committee meeting could not make any headway due to the differences between Congress and Minister Adhikari.

Minister Adhikari rejected the proposal to categorise landless Dalits, squatters, and the unorganised settlers separately and distribute land ownership certificates solely based on such identification.

According to a lawmaker present in the committee meeting, after the minister disagreed with the Congress proposal, a meeting of the Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resources Committee under the lower house was adjourned on Saturday.

“A provision was proposed whereby unorganised settlers could be granted land ownership depending on the type of land, its area, valuation, the length of settlement, and whether the individual or their family owned property elsewhere,” said a committee member. “The proposal also stated that they could claim land in only one place and would have to pay the specified fee as per the classification. However, the minister disagreed with this proposal.”

But UML lawmaker Amrit Lal Rajbansi, also a committee member, differs. Rajbansi claimed that the committee members are instructed to read the draft proposal thoroughly before the next meeting, which is why the meeting on Saturday concluded within five minutes of its start.

“Our party is also concerned that the bill should address the problems faced by the victims,” Rajbansi said. “In the victims’ name, other people should not exploit the provision, so the bill should be cautiously drafted.”

During internal discussions, Congress lawmakers have proposed that unorganised settlers should not be granted land immediately. The amendment, tabled by Congress general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Sharma, lawmaker Dilendra Prasad Badu of the same party, and other lawmakers, included this provision in the land-related bill.

Committee Chairperson Kusum Devi Thapa informed the meeting that the report on the bill was prepared, but further study was required.

The House committee is organising a conference of parliamentarians from countries in the Hindu-Kush Himalaya region from August 18 to 19. According to an official, the meeting on Saturday could not last long due to the committee member’s busy schedule for the international event.

“It was due to the busy schedule of the committee members that the meeting did not last long,” said Roshan Tandukar, an officer of the committee. “It was not due to the misunderstanding between the Minister and the Congress lawmakers.”

UML lawmaker Rajbansi concurs with Tandukar.

When the ruling party registered the amendment in the Act, the opposition parties linked the amendment of the Land Act to Giribandhu Tea Estate.

Congress lawmakers have proposed amending Clause (g) by adding Clause 12(h), which would prohibit land granted for agricultural, industrial, educational, or health purposes from being used for other purposes, such as housing or real estate developments, including apartments and housing plots.

Congress lawmakers also suggested removing the term “unmanaged settlers” from Clause 52 (b) of the principal Act, arguing that vague classifications could lead to abuse.

Furthermore, they demanded amendments to the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973, citing that lands shown as forest or shrubland on maps inhabited by landless people could be misused under the current proposal to re-map and reclassify these lands in favour of land distribution.

In addition to the Congress, Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal, the Rastriya Swatantra Party, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party have also registered an amendment to the land bill.

Altogether, around 55 lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties have registered amendments to the bill.