Preparations Underway to Operationalize Land Banks Across All Local Levels

Land banks are set to be operationalized across all local levels throughout the country. The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation (and Federal Affairs) has initiated the process to establish land banks with the aim of putting unused and barren private land into productive use.

Issuing a public notice, the ministry stated that under the provisions of the Land Use Act, 2019 (2076 BS) and the Land Use Regulations, 2022 (Third Amendment, 2025/2082 BS), unused private land can be utilized for productive purposes through local levels.

According to the ministry, the "Land Bank (Establishment and Operation) Procedure, 2026 (2083 BS)" has already been approved. The procedure provides for the establishment and operation of a land bank in every local level unit.

The ministry mentioned that it has already dispatched the necessary circulars to all local levels for the implementation of the procedure. Local levels will now begin collecting details of barren, unused, and uncultivated private land within their jurisdictions to bring them into utility through the land bank.

Landowners offering their land to the land bank can lease it out for a specified period for agriculture, animal husbandry, entrepreneurship, commercial farming, or other productive purposes. This initiative is expected to increase the utilization of barren land while boosting agricultural production and creating local employment opportunities.

The government has recently introduced the land bank concept to streamline land use, protect arable land, and increase investment in productive sectors. With the active involvement of local levels, the goal is to integrate scattered, unused private land across the country into the production system.