The Nepali House of Representatives on Sunday passed the
Citizenship Bill, easing the way for thousands of people living in
the Terai region to acquire citizenship.
The passed Bill states that any person born before mid-April
1990 and living in the country since then, is eligible to acquire
citizenship of Nepal.
Such persons will have to submit either land ownership
certificates or house ownership certificates or their registration
number in voters' lists to obtain citizenship.
The State Affairs Committee (SAC) of parliament last week
decided to clear the bill ensuring citizenship rights to all
eligible Nepalis.
SAC also decided to issue directives to the government to
formulate necessary regulations so that none of the eligible
citizens are deprived of citizenship.
The bill was passed by a majority vote. However, parliament
member Narayan Man Bijukshya from Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party
expressed dissatisfaction over the bill at Sunday's sitting of the
House saying that it would create loopholes for "illegal
distribution" of the citizenship certificate.
Speaker of the House Subash Nemwang authenticated the bill
thereby declaring it an act.
On Nov. 8, both the government and the Communist Party of
Nepal(CPN) (formerly known as guerrillas) agreed to resolve the
citizenship issue by considering April 1990 as the cut-off
year.
Any person born of parents who are the citizens of Nepal will be
a citizen of Nepal on the basis of descent and every minor found in
Nepal whose parents' whereabouts is not known will be considered
the citizen of Nepal on the basis of descent until the whereabouts
of the parents is known.
Any foreign woman married to a Nepali citizen can acquire the
Nepali citizenship on the basis of naturalization once she
initiates the process of giving up her foreign citizenship.
In order to acquire the citizenship, she will have to submit an
application in the designated format, according to the bill.
A person more than 16 years of age and who wants to acquire
citizenship certificate on the basis of birth or descent is
required to apply for the same by including with the application
the Nepali citizenship certificate of one's father, mother or the
close relative in his lineage, one's birth certificate, the
certificate attesting one's lineage, the recommendation of the
Village Development Committee or municipality concerned, the
land-ownership certificate in one's name, father's name or mother's
name, or the receipt of the house tax.
The parliament members have expressed optimism that with the
bill passed the long-standing citizenship problem faced by an
estimated 4 million people will now be resolved.
Talking to a leading media group's website, eKantipur.com,
parliament member Hridayesh Tripathi from Nepal Sadbhawana Party
(Anandidevi) said that the passing of the bill has opened a door
for more than 4 million people living in the Terai region in
southern part of Nepal, who were deprived of their rights to
acquire citizenship since the past four decades.
"The approval has materialized the House of Representatives
Proclamation of May 18," said Tripathi.
The CPN and the ruling Seven Party Alliance in their Nov. 8
agreement had promised to complete distributing citizenship before
Constituent Assembly polls that will be held by mid-June 2007.
The bill has a provision of tougher punishment to those who
recommend fake persons for acquisition of citizenship.
The Home Ministry has already added additional manpower of two
under-secretaries, three section officers and three non-gazetted
first class officers to make necessary preparations for citizenship
distribution.
(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2006)
