The National Haruwa-Charuwa Rights Forum submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives of the Madhesh Province government on April 9, addressing the issue of restoration for Haruwa-Charuwa. Upon receiving the memorandum, Minister of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives, Janardan Singh Chhetri, expressed his readiness to address the concerns regarding the issue. The Forum informed that the memorandum was submitted to exert pressure on the Madhesh Province government to address the issue of restoration for Haruwa-Charuwa through the upcoming policies, programs, and budget.
The memorandum, submitted under the leadership of Shri Prasad Sada, Central Vice Chairperson of the National Haruwa-Charuwa Rights Forum, urges for the publication of the registration of the Haruwa-Charuwa Family and Identity Card Distribution Guidelines 2023. It also emphasizes the need to begin the collection, certification, and distribution of identity cards for Haruwa-Charuwa in coordination with local authorities. Additionally, the memorandum also mentions that the Ministry should allocate the necessary budget for the collection of Haruwa-Charuwa data in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. Likewise, the budget should be allocated for skill development, agriculture, animal husbandry, and livelihood support for Haruwa-Charuwa, and a detailed action plan and procedures for the restoration of Haruwa-Charuwa should be promptly approved by the Provincial Council of Ministers. Arrangements for land and secure housing for them should be made, and the displacement of landless Haruwa-Charuwa communities under the guise of road expansion, development, or other reasons should be stopped immediately. Furthermore, in coordination with the Land Commission, Haruwa-Charuwa should be prioritized in land distribution, and families of Haruwa-Charuwa should be included in poverty-targeted and agricultural development programs.
After multiple discussions, the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba declared the liberation of Haruwa-Charuwa on 18 July 2022. Following this declaration, the Madhesh Province Government, under point number 179 of the 2023/2024 policy program, arranged for the collection of data on freed Haruwa-Charuwa across all districts of Madhesh Province in coordination with local governments, along with the distribution of certification and identity cards. Additionally, the 2023/2024 budget, under point number 175, provides for the same purpose, and this policy, program, and budget have all been approved. The memorandum states that after the declaration, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management, and Cooperatives prepared guidelines for collecting data and distributing identity cards in 2023. These guidelines were reviewed and approved at the ministry level before being presented to the Cabinet, where they were officially approved. However, as no progress has been made based on the guidelines so far, the General Secretary of the National Haruwa-Charuwa Rights Forum, Lagindra Sada, stated that they have urged the Janardan Singh Chhetri, Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives through the memorandum to address their demands.