A few owners, with small landholdings in Bumthang, fear the land pooling for Bumthang valley development plan will leave them with not enough land to build a house on, in the future.
An individual needs at least 13 decimal of land to build a house on.
“If 28 percent of our land goes to land pooling, I will be left with only 9-decimal land on which the government will not allow me to build a house,” said a landowner, who has 13-decimal land.
A maximum of 28 percent of the total land of an individual will be ‘pooled in’, according to the Local Area Plan (LAP). The land will be used for infrastructure development, such as roads, parks and other amenities, under Bumthang valley development plan.
The Chief Urban Planner, Latha Chettri said it will be considered a plot, meaning they would be allowed to build a house, if a person has just about 13-decimal land before land pooling. However, she said those with less than 13-decimal land, before the land pooling, will be asked to pay land monetary compensation.
“Luckily, in Deekiling and Chamkhar we had very less number of people who had plots less than 13 decimal,” said Latha Chettri.
A public consultancy meeting for Local Area Plan for Chamkhar and Deekiling in Bumthang was held to discuss and conduct land verification. During the meeting, the landowners were assured that minimum land will be taken, especially from those with limited land.
“Land pooling is the most feasible scheme compared to other forms of land acquisitions,” said the Chief Urban Planner.
After the consultative meeting, majority accepted the land pooling scheme.
The officials also briefed the landowners on the benefits they will have access to once the town is complete.
