social welfare, the state will not acquire or exercise authority upon individual property. Article 19 (3) states that when the state acquires or establishes its right over private property, the state will compensate for loss of property and the basis and procedure for such compensation will be specified under relevant laws.

Land Acquisition Act (1977) will be the main instrument for the land and other physical asset acquisition. The act guides the compulsory acquisition of land in the country.  Government can acquire land at any place in any quantity by giving compensation pursuant to the Act for the land acquired for any public purposes or for operation of any development project initiated by government institutions (Section: 3 and 4).  With respect to the following legal provisions outlined in the Land Acquisition Act are relevant;

• The acquisition and compensation of privately owned assets will be undertaken according   to a formal procedure, consisting of (a) initial procedure, (b) a preliminary investigation process (c) acquisition notification, (d) compensation notification and (e) appeal procedures.
• Compensation Determination Committee (CDC) are established (at district level) to ascertain compensation rates for the land and other assets
• Compensation must be paid (a) for damage caused as a result of investigations during the project (including sanding crops, trees, and houses)
• Compensation must take depreciation for salvage materials into account.
• Compensation must be in cash (lump sum), although titleholders who have lost all of their landholdings will be provided land for resettlement, if available.
• Compensation against all types of loss will be paid to the person who has the right to claim for the compensation; to be entitled to compensation for land, a person must submit an official land registration certificate at the time of compensation.
• Titleholders are required to submit compensation claims or complaints within a specified period after the land acquisition notice is issued by the Local Authority (Chief District Officer). Compensation for land is paid after the land is valued and the rate is fixed by Compensation Fixation Committee (CFC) if not otherwise it is CDC based on entitled complaints.  
• Two separate rates of compensation can be paid i) titleholders who lose all their land, and ii) to titleholders who lose only some part of the land.
• In determining the compensation amount, the committees has to consider relevant periodic guidelines of GON and the loss suffered by persons due to acquisition of land, shift of residence or place of business to another place.
• If the land has to be acquired the CFC has to consider the following in determining the compensation amount: price of the land prevailing at the time of notification of land acquisition, price of standing crops, and structures, and damage incurred by persons being compelled to shift their residence or place of business due to the land acquisition.

The Land Reform Act (1964) is also relevant. As per the Act, a landowner may not be compensated for more land than s/he is entitled to under the law. This Act also establishes the tiller's right on the land which s/he is tilling. The land reform act additionally specifies the compensation entitlements of registered tenants on land sold by the owner or acquired for the development purposes. The Act amendment most recently in 2001 has established a rule that when state acquires land under tenancy, the tenant and the landlord will each be entitled to 50 percent of the total compensation amount.

The Land Revenue Act (1977) is also applicable, as the land acquisition involves change of ownership of land. Article (8) of the Act states that registration, change in ownership, termination of ownership right and maintenance of land records are done by Land Revenue Office. Similarly article 16 says, if land revenue is not paid by the concerned owner for long period of time, the revenue can be collected through auction of the parcel of the land for which revenue has been due.

The Public Roads Act, 2031 (1974) empowers the government to acquire any land on a temporary basis for storage facilities, construction camps and so on during construction and upgrading of roads. Any buildings and other structures such as houses, sheds, schools, and temples are to be avoided wherever possible. The government is required to pay compensation for any damages caused to buildings, standing crops and trees.  Compensation rates are negotiated between the government and the landowners.

Land acquisition must also comply with the provisions set out in the Guthi Corporation Act 1976. The Section 42 of the Act states that Guthi (religious/trust) land acquired for a development must be replaced with other land.

The act empowers DOR to acquire any land on a temporary basis during construction and upgrading. The act does not provide for leasing of land. DOR required paying compensation for any damages caused to buildings, crops and trees, where the farming activities of the landowner is interrupted, and where the landowner has to incur expansions to restore the land after its return. Compensation is determined between DOR and titleholder, or through mediation, involving officials from the relevant VDC and district.

Land Acquisition Guidelines provisioned to establish an Acquisition and Rehabilitation Committee (also known as Compensation Fixation or Determination Committee (CFC/CDC) consisting of concerned Chief District Officer (Chair), Land revenue Officer, representative of the District Development Committee (DDC) and the Project Manager and others as deemed necessary. The committee is responsible for acquire land and paying compensation.