June 2: The government has issued the Land Use Regulations, dividing land into 10 zones based on their features.    
Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Shashi Shrestha issued the regulations amid a press conference on Wednesday (June 1) and informed about the classification of land.    
As per the government’s decision, the country’s land has been categorized as agricultural zone, residential zone, commercial zone, industrial zone, area of mines and minerals, forest zone, public use zone, area of cultural and archeological importance, and others based on topographic features, efficiency and utility of land, its existing use and necessity.    
The minister said that the regulations prohibit commercial land plotting and its sale in areas except in classified areas for residential purposes. She was hopeful of the implementation of the regulations as it was issued in coordination with the stakeholders.    
The regulations have the provision that the federal level will deal with the land use mapping procedures across the country and hand it to the local level which can revise and update the mapping as per its needs and implement it.    
Similar, one land zone may have sub-zones such as grains production sub-zone and fruits production sub-zone, according to the minister.    
The regulations grant the right to land owner to go to a court if the party finds the classification unconvincing.    
According to the minister, federal, province and local levels will prepare land use plans and the province should not to prepare a plan that contradicts with the federal plan and the local levels’ plans should not go against the provincial plan.

Likewise the regulations do not entertain the use of a land classified into one category for another purpose and the land use classification is changeable through a due process.    
Likewise, the federal government can alter the land use if valuable minerals are found in the land use zone, if priority projects were to be operated on it or for any other plausible reason like the land falling in the international border security area, development, tourism, world heritage sites etc.    
The local level can change the land use for the purpose of disaster risk management, shifting the insecure settlements, prepare the basis and criteria required for regulating and checking the land plotting and demarcation. Provision has also been made for implementing the land pooling programme for the purpose of mechanization of agricultural land.    
Minister Shrestha said that an action plan would be prepared for the implementation of the Land Use Regulations. A meeting of the Council of Ministers had on May 23 approved the Regulations.    
Meanwhile, Minister Shrestha said that the land bank has not been revoked. She said it has only been suspended for the time being.  -- RSS