Ratnanagar, Aug 18 ,The Ratnanagar municipality has begun penalizing land owners who leave their agricultural land arid.
A decision was taken by the municipal assembly to fine those leaving productive land barren, said Mayor Narayan Won. Accordingly, the municipality has already collected Rs. 146,000 in revenue from the action taken against such land owners.
The action is aimed at ensuring that no agricultural land is left barren. The municipality has also put a ban on plotting of agricultural land for housing purpose.
Following the action, some land owners have become alert. However, they do not want to give it to tillers for fear of losing ownership, ward no. 14 chair Hari Kumar Shrestha said. The ward has the largest area of barren land in the municipality.
The municipality has also begun protecting public land. It has so far protected around 30 bigaha of land, according to ward chair Shrestha.
