11 years on, not even 1 percent of landless Dalits have received land

Eleven years after the constitution was promulgated, not even 1 percent of landless Dalits have received land. So far, only about 924 families have received land.

About 103,000 families have applied for land as landless Dalits. Article 40(5) of the constitution requires the state to provide land once to landless Dalits in accordance with law, while sub-clause (6) provides for housing arrangements for Dalits without homes. Both provisions fall under fundamental rights.

However, even after 11 years, the law needed to implement these rights has not been enacted. Through an ordinance issued on Asoj 27, 2083, the government has arranged to give landless Dalits either land or a grant to purchase land within two years.