Land Bill 2012 gives ‘Kidu’ powers to Cabinet

Land officials say this is unconstitutional while MoAF officials say the cabinet introduced the highly controversial changes

The Land Bill of Bhutan 2012 even before being introduced in the Parliament has already created much controversy. National Land Commission officers accused the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests and the Cabinet of virtually hijacking and rewriting the entire Bill to give ministers power over land administration and distribution.

Some Ministry of Agriculture and Forest officials who drafted the bill passed the buck to the cabinet who they say introduced some of the most sensitive changes in the Bill.

Despite requests by this paper for them to come on record officials from both agencies spoke on the condition of anonymity fearing repercussions.

One of the major changes is that the cabinet under Section 230 of the new Land Bill 2012 will have the power to grant resettlement land. This is a major change as under Section 71 of the current Land Act 2007 it is only the Druk Gyalpo who can grant resettlement or rehabilitation land. This section says ‘Granting of Kidu and rehabilitation land shall be the royal prerogative of the Druk Gyalpo.’

“We are shocked with this addition because original draft did not have it and moreover this is unconstitutional as only His Majesty the King can grant Kidu land under the constitution. It is understood that resettlement land is Kidu land,” said a land commission officer.

Article 2, Section 16 of the Constitution allows only His Majesty the King to grant land Kidu. The Section says ‘The Druk Gyalpo in the exercise of his Royal Prerogatives, may grant citizenship, land Kidu and other Kidus.’

MoAF officials, however, say that they are not to blame. “This change was not inserted by MoAF but rather by the cabinet when the bill went to them,” clarified a MoAF official.

Under the Executive section in the Constitution there is no clause granting the cabinet any powers to allot land Kidu or rehabilitation land.

Another major change that NLC officials are unhappy about is the change in the membership of the National Land Commission.

Under the current Land Act 2007 the NLC members are the Gyalpoi Zimpon, Secretaries of the Agriculture Ministry, Finance Ministry, Works and Human Settlement Ministry, Economic Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry, one representative each of international boundary secretariat, Thromde, private sector, National Environment Commission and the Land Secretary.

“The National Land Commission had recommended that we have four member permanent commission with no politicians but this has not been accepted by MoAF,” said a NLC official.

The National Land Commission members as per the new bill is the Prime Minister or Minister of relevant ministry appointed by the Prime Minister who shall be the Chairperson, Ministers or highest ranking officers appointed by the Prime Minister of the Ministries of Agriculture, Home and Culture, Works and Human Settlement and the Economic Affairs, one Thrizin nominated by the Home Ministry, one Thrompon nominated by the Works and Human Settlement Ministry and the Secretary of the National Land Commission.

Here too a MoAF official said, “The change in the membership of the NLC was brought about by the cabinet when the bill went to them.”

“Earlier the chairperson of the commission was the Gyalpoi Zimpon with secretaries as members but now with politicians in an autonomous body land will issues become politicized,” said a NLC official. “With politicization of the commission the law cannot be applied properly and so people might not get land for resettlement,” he added.

“We expect this clause to be strongly debated in the Parliamentary session by National Council Members as they see some danger in it,” said another land official.

Land Commission officials complained that though they made some major contribution in drafting the bill they were not given a copy of the bill.

“Since most of the land related issues and disputes are solved by us and we have more experience the drafting of the Bill should have been given to us instead of outsourcing it to the MoAF,” said a land official.

 

Chuzing Conversion

Under the current act a person can convert 50 decimals of Chuzing land if he or she does not have land to construct a house. In the new Land Bill this has been reduced to 13 decimals.

Prohibited land transactions

As per the Land Act of 2007, the minimum parcel of land that shall be registered in a thram is 10 decimal but under the new bill it increases to 13 decimals.

Land recorded in the thram as Kidu or resettlement shall not be sold within 10 years of its allotment.  However in this bill after 10 years of allotment from the date of registration, 60% of such land shall be allowed for transaction.

 

Merging of Continuous parcel

Section 13 of Chapter VI of the new Bill also says that a plot with minimum of 13 decimal is mandatory both in rural and urban. They can now be merged with adjacent land.

If merger is not possible for undersized plots then the commission shall consider allotment of land parcel from the Government Reserve Land at the Property Assessment and Valuation Agency rate to the land owner to make up the minimum required plot size.

NLC officials said this is also a case of the government taking over the Kidu powers of His Majesty the King.

 

Two New Departments under NLC

If the land bill gets enacted NLC will be having two new departments, Department of Survey and Mapping and Department of Land Registration.

“In the previous years we gave more importance on thram than survey and mapping,” said a NLC official.

With these two new departments officials say they can help in solving land disputes and overcome land discrepancy as it will give equal importance on survey mapping and land registration.

The Land Registration Department would be the custodian of compiling and maintaining of the Chhazhag Sathram( the document that shall record and establish the legitimacy of title of a land of a person in the country) and also be responsible for constantly updating the records and register all the land transactions.

The department of survey and mapping shall be responsible for surveying and mapping of land in the country.

 

Functions of the Dispute Settlement Committee

As per the Land Act of 2007, land disputes shall be settled amicably by NLC before taking it into court for legal recourse. But the Commission does not have proper procedure although it is mentioned in the rules and regulations.

Therefore to give justice and a clear procedure for the commission the dispute Settlement Committee and its members are mentioned this year.

The bill states that this committee shall act as a Land Dispute Tribunal until such tribunal is established by Druk Gyalpo in accordance with the constitution.

“It will not consume much time in settling disputes as the appellant can go to the High Court if he or she not satisfied,” said the Legal officer.

 

Functions of the Local Government

Local government shall now be responsible to verify and validate the land registration and transaction, allotment, lease, acquisition and exchange cases for further submission to the commission.

The NLC officer said the purpose is to divide the responsibility between the commission and the local government in making it more efficient.

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72 comments

  1. Good change…I think this is one the most progressive amendments of the Act that the DOT govt. is trying…kudos

  2. its a good change only if they truly follow it but for seeing the future i fear it will give the cabinet more power and corruption.

  3. There is nothing dangerous in giving powers to the people’s government. They were elected by us so they have the right to take control of governing all aspects of development, otherwise what is the use of a democratic government. I am sure they wont sale land for votes. That can never be possible now under the watchful eyes of ACC and other organizations.

    • hey, are you being serious and is this a cynical joke? 

      these buggers won’t elected by me for sure and I don’t see why they need more corruptible powers than they already havae.

      You’re sure they wont’ sell land for votes? Now why the heck do the want this power in the first place buddy!

      • Yeah because the leader you  voted must have lost. You are just assuming things on the negative sides. It could be bad or it could be not so bad, so let the parliament debate on it. We can always amend, if it proved what you assume. 

      • The elected government should have the power over everything, otherwise how can they function if they do not have power over land because land development is the core of every development happening in the country. Now when it comes to personal corruption, then it is the responsibility of other independent institution to act seriously. If the judiciary fails to prosecute a corrupt politician, then it is not the fault of the government. It is the weakness of the judiciary. If ACC cannot prosecute a corrupt politician, then it is the weakness of the ACC not the government. There will always be a corrupt people in all levels of governance but it is the responsibility of other independent constitutional bodies to fix that.

      • yes phuntsho, I didn’t vote for any of those clowns. I’d say my vote has been vindicated.

        Sonam, what does having kidu powers have to do with having powers to use govt land for development? They already have that power. They are even giving 1000 acres to a foreigner no questions asked!

  4. This a dangerous development as most ppl involved in Gyelpozhing land scam were politicians like lyonchhen, lyonpo zimba, lyonpo wangdi norbu etc 

  5.  our rich politicians can now become even richer

  6. This is a non-sense. Scrap that provision or get out of the government in the next election

  7.                                 Politicians and land 
    In Bhutan, land is very precious for every one. It is not only a factor of production, but a source of secutity and store of value for generations to come. Losing land is unimaginable to very Bhutanese. It is equally a sensitive issue. 
    The land holding pattern has been a primary source of economic inequality and social imbalance in the country – both in rural and urban.  And this will continue to be at play in the near future, if not for eons of years. 
    The right laws, policies, rules and regulations governing the land distribution could not be more important than any other laws for Bhutan with a sizeable amount of habitable and cultivable land. 
    The draft Land Bill of 2012, has to be studied thoroughly before it becomes an act. The bill giving the power to the cabinet for land allotment and distribution warrants more debate and discourse. 
    In a democracy, important decisions must be taken by poiticians voted to power by the people. They have the mandate to ensure the welfare of the citizenary. They have the responsiblity to deepen and sustain democracy as a form of governance. They have the moral duty to make sure the interest of the country and the people do not become second to theirs.
    All this could be achieved only if they have enough power to bring about necessary reforms. We need to really study if politicians have been deprived of their rights and power to serve the people. 
    However, the need of power for politicians to give land to the people should be examined. It is not to suggest politicians cannot decide for the people who voted them to power. It is the question of when they should have the power to take complete charge of their electorate’s welfare, especially concerning land. Are they ready? Have they proven? Do they have the will and the heart to do so?
    We have seen democracy at its work for the last four years. How have the players of democracy fared? What are the positive and negative changes have they brought about? What kind of future has democracy shown for the people of Bhutan? Can we trust politicians? Are they selfless or selfish?
    This leads us to the question: can we leave up to the politicians to decide who should get what amount of land? 
    People habor a legitimate fear that politicians will misuse the power of land distribution. The fear is not fake. There has been a number of media reports that the power corrupts the Bhutanese people, that too absolutely. What guarantees us that our politicians will be what they are supposed to be – people’s servants?
    Has the Bhutanese democracy come of age, where politicians can be trusted and believed in? Do they have to have such important decision making power at this point in time?
    To ensure the politicians do not go wayward, we must have strong and independent constitutional bodies, media, active civil society and educated and informed citizens. Do we have those check and balance mechanisms up and running. We have them in the form of their physical forms, but how effective are they?
    Can we entrust our politicians with the power to distribute land?
    Will they not ask, “What size of land do you want for your vote?” 
    Is it it a good demoractic question worth your vote? 
     

  8. I dont buy the idea of conferring land Kidu to Cabinet. First, unconstitutionality of overriding the Royal prerogative. Second, every five years cabinet would change and Bhutan would lose, in the name of Kidu, huge patch of land. Anything can happen with changing cabinet, so i suggest to better leave this to our beloved Monarchs. I know our Honourable members of cabinet would argue that this is the democratic situation elsewhere but i say you cannot harvest everything that is harvested elsewhere too. Sometimes taking the contextual framework to apply is also important.  

  9. This prerogative is best left to His Majesty the King alone. It is one thing to decentralize power in to the people but quite other to give such powers to politicians who indulge and will continue to indulge in partisan politics. The Kidu will no longer go to genuine needy people but to the sycophants and yes men of the political parties. This is simply ALARMING!

  10. 1) Cabinet will be making a big mistake to stretch their hands in the business of NLC.
    (2) They have already done a big blunder by bringing the TAB under its direct control. What this indicates- these elected leaders would be under tremendous pressure from their electorates and compel to compromise their decision be it with regard to tourism or land. Bhutan cannot be another Bangkok where the dignity of both female and male have surrendered to the fast-making dollar business. Bhutan invite more whites with more dollars: consequences -will result into moral degradation of both male and female in the move towards making fast dollars, we all know that’s has become reality in Bangkok; will this be Bangkok model of tourism or we will have our own GNH model of tourism.

    • If every institution is independent of government, then why bothering of electing a government at the first place. Only constitutional bodies should be independent from the government. All the rest should be under the government otherwise there is no need for a government. If government does not have power over finances like the hurdles caused by the presence of DHI, how can government fund the developmental projects. After all why do we need DHI in the middle to waste more resources. How much more income has been generated by DHI after its inception. Similarly why TAB and NLC should be functioning independent of government. If you take every institution away from the government, what will the elected government preside over. So don’t confuse. Yes i support constitutional bodies, judiciary and legislative should be out of the grip of the government but not other institutions. It does not make sense at all.

      • Agreed. The Media is just too sensitive and antagonist to every government move. Potentially there are strong forces and motives behind such attitudes if Media.

  11. pure ego of NLC, i suppose, for blaming the government. They should realise it is the elected lot who should decide is good for the people not the secretaries. Whats would be the function of the cabinet if they cant exercise powers over the country? These changes are well thought of .  Good.

  12. The NLC is doing a pretty crappy job in my view. The NLC needs to be improved in terms of professionalism. Having corruptible ministers as commission members DOES NOT make it better! It makes it more complicated and will for sure lead to more corruption. Each minister is going to take the ‘chance mein dance’ attitude to enrich themselves while they can. This always happens. So don’t give these buggers these powers.

    • That is why we have institutions like ACC to check such things do not happen. Elected leaders can always be made accountable and held responsible of their actions. They can face law and jail even if they resign from their positions. So lets wake up from our poisoned slumber.

    • how does ACC help when these people react to everything by making a new law to adjust to their needs? 

  13. Whatever it is, government must also have significant power in the affairs of the country, otherwise it would just a white elephant. People will misuse their authorities and we all know many people before had misused their authorities and they are at large scot-free, some still serving and extracting the government’s coffer while others retired. But I believe we have institutions now to check that such things do not happen. So I hope it will be wisely debated in the parliament. We cannot have the government just for the name sake. 

  14. We would actually like to hear the views of this newspaper “The Bhutanese” on what they think about the powers to give kidu land being given to the ruling government. Do they think it is right or do they think it is wrong and why.

    • The function of newspapers is to report the facts. The opinions is up to the people. Its the private newspapers fact report and opinions that gets confused. I think its great to report facts

  15. Now many pending land cases will disappear. Those who are playing with constitutions must be jailed immediately. Give them 40 years. By then they will vanish. I believe it must stay with Druk Gyelpo not with this politicians they will misuse it.

  16. That is a very welcome change. Land is a really strategic resource which must be left at the disposal of the people’s elected government rathter than a few crook at NLC

  17. durable and provide continuity for check and balance. I guess more debate is required before taking any hasty decision on the issues of national importance which will have direct bearing on the social, history, economic, culture and political systems. Issues of NLC and TCB will have far greater implication of these factors which I have just mentioned and great bearing to GNHC policy, too; these are some of the most core sensitive issues that need careful consideration of our policy makers.

  18. For the interest of the country and not the interest of the party, we need a proper check and balance system to be instituted which is provided by the Opposition Party in the NA; but in the Cabinet it is the ruling party that makes decision single handedly. We need to move things cautiously yet persistently and think of a broader interest beyond the party’s interest- this calls for review of the land and tourism issues. The Cabinet formed by the ruling government with its majority party will come and go but where is the institutions that is durable and provide continuity for check and balance. I guess more debate is required before taking any hasty decision on the issues of national importance which will have direct bearing on the social, history, economic, culture and political systems. Issues of NLC and TCB will have far greater implication of these factors which I have just mentioned and great bearing to GNHC policy, too; these are some of the most core sensitive issues that need careful consideration of our policy makers.

  19. wai the monk,
    Why do u want the hear the views of ” the bhutansese”. The role of the media is just to report the truth in a fair and comprehensive manner, and not give thier unfounded views.

  20. The RCSC act must aslo be looked into so that the goverment has some control over the matters of the civil servants. We really need change in our civil service. It is getting worse by the day.

  21. What a typical media hype and accusation without understanding the iota of the issue…please do ur homework before making such a big accusation to the cabinet…the funniest thing is, this paper is terming resettlement land as kidu land! Common, this two are completely different and should be dealt separately… Resettlement has to be done due to gov projects falling on private lands n such thing has to be done by gov n land secretariat …HM has no time to look after this issues on day to day bssis ….it just reaffirms that this paper just want to criticise gov for hack of it…so far ,this paper did not mentioned even a single positive thing about this gov …yes, this gov did many blunders but it also did many good things in terms of rural development, foreign relation etc..,..anyway, there is called media/journalist ethics in Bhutan…..

  22. It is quite unimaginable to think whats  going in the  upper section of our society frequently tormenting the people with so many unwanted upcoming plans and policies. Hope what ever they are doing are in line with the Directive Principles of State Policy…what ever the government is framing must abide by it (Article ( of the Consitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan)…Now it seems that the policy makers on the Land Kidu is going to be tabled to be infavour of the Cabinet which is HORROR…Imagine these of group of people (elected by the people) turning the tables on their sides and will be at their own will while granting the Land Kidu to the people…
    As per the Constitutution  its the sole prerogative of the King to grant kidu of all sorts in the kingdom and not anybody else…who can Cabinet snatch this sacred duty of our beloved monarch…wai…please don’t do that…you policy makers are encroaching…and if ever gone that way…the government must be put to impeachment…for it completely goes against the constitution..as there is no article talking about Cabinets role in Land Kidu except the Monarch…instead the Cabinet plans and policies must go in line with the Article 9 of the constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan (Directive Principles of State Policy)….Pray and hope that it will never happen in our wildest dreams such kind of Bill to be passed in the parliament….

  23. This paper is unnecessarily sensationalizing the proposed land amendment bill without actually understanding it in the name of anonymous sources. Media is very powerful medium and if unchecked, it could be misused by some individuals for vested interest.

    By the way, what the hell is land commission people trying to say. Their job is to implement whatever is there in the act. As of amending act, it will be debated in the parliament and, ultimately, it won’t become act without royal assent . So, at least, let us have faith in HM. 

  24. I will not worry about this change. Isn’t the Constitution above all laws? The Constitution will supersede all laws, and unless the constitution is changed, there will be a status quo.

  25. This is where democracy is flawed, governments come into power through fair means (not always the case). Once they are in power, they will do everything to stay in power. If they have power to distribute lands, they will do so in the most corrupt manner (which will be made conveniently legal by themselves). I see unfair distribution, i see rich people getting richer. I see disgruntlement amongst people, I see our country in the dumps. 

    We are talking about this government made up of people who had the greatest opportunity of serving the selfless visionary Kings. Even they are stooping this low, what can we hope from the future. 

  26. What remaing part of the land are you all talking about? Flat and nice lands; the kings gave already gave them as kidu to relatives and who else?. Look at those  flat and nice lands and link them to the owners and the  understand how they possessed these lands. The story is crystal clear.
    Govt can give the remaing mountains, where animals cannot  even graze, as kidu.
    So let govt have some powers is doling out useless lands. That is we elected govt, you muppets and critters. Don’t grumble with change.
    For a meaningful land distribution, all the land given as kidu, to whomever it is, while working for govt or during a period of holding a post in any form, those land should be pooled for distribution.  Then we think of a system of for a meaningful land management.

  27. Dorji, leave our beloved Kings alone out of this. Whatever happened in the past  is history, lots of things happened in the past which can’t be reversed for many reasons. Let’s focus on what can be improved for the future of our country. 

    • Agreed but what about the Gyalposhing land scam, what about Phobjikha land scam and many others. What about lottery scam? Where shall we draw the line? Shall we just concentrate after 2008? Then why is ACC investigating cases that happened before 2008? Should we just acquit Sangay Gyeltshen? Where should be the line?

    • Phuntsho, you are missing the point. If all you can do is demand ‘equity’ for the corruption opportunities under a democracy with what existed as a monarchy, then why the hell did we even switch to this sort of democracy?

      Please, don’t talk rubbish.

      • You are talking sense now. I said we can make our elected leaders accountable of what they do or did and that is what you are reiterating now. All this time, I thought you were just talking rubbish but you are starting to make a sense of yourself. Good. 

      • Yes we must make elected leaders accountable. In the meantime I fail to see any reason to give them ADDITIONAL powers. Do you?

  28. No such power should be given to minister or otherwise hell will break loose in Bhutan, which has very less land. Only HM should have that prerogatives.

    Politicians are after all Politicians mo.

  29. what’s all this complaints about govt not having ‘enough’ powers? There is such a thing as ‘separation of powers’ based on the historically established wisdom that power corrupts, especially politicians. the govt should do what they can within their allocated powers instead of always grabbing for more.

  30. Yes the power must be given to the cabinet so that they can do what ever they like. ,….Sorry it is going to happen like that only,,,,, the extreme leaders including prime minister, Je  khenpo  are the one who die for all these powers and no one is going to stop it. Is sad to read there names in corruption list but what  to do fact is like that………………………..

  31. More powers on land for ruling government means illegal allocation to loyal party workers and nothing else. It could happen now or it could happen in future. The government in power should not think of their own term but further than that.

    Pity that immediate gains overshadow the long term objectives   

    • too true, esp in the context of a ruling government that is midway through it’s own land scam from yesteryear Once a thief, always a thief.

      • Now I know why you take it so personal. You just hate our current PM. Could you name a single old bureaucrat who was or is not tainted? Or who do not have property or land in prime areas? 

        I wish there is way or a system to pool all these land back to the public. 

        • Phuntsho, he is a person who is very close to the PDP hierarchy and just can’t get over the thrashing his party got in the 2008 elections. Nothing but hatred from him.

      • ha ha. please grow up. As a democratic leader this PM has higher standards to meet. Please stop repeating your comparisons with the past.

        The Monk – go back to your rock.

  32. This reali bullshit changed brought by those selfish cabinets.. All go to hell: get them all sucked n #**!!## up soon

  33. first, nothing should be unconstituional. second, think about our poor people back in the villages when making any new laws. see that their interests are safeguarded.

    by the way, before making any laws, we should try to implement existing ones in people friendly way, then see what revisions are required, and only then make necessary changes la.

  34. They are doing all these things coz they are in corruption list:) its not their power but powers are given to them people. Coz of their undermind manifesto they are today standing. Pessed off their bullshit changes.. Rather take Dogshits…

  35. I would have put the clause as below:

    “The Throne shall be the only Institution to grant Kidu land. In doing so, His Majesty may also consider other recommendations for land Kidu made by the Cabinet”.

    This way, HM will maintain the Consitutional role on this matter and also the Cabinet will have their own share of power in recommending on case-by-case basis (including regularizing their own, of course).

  36. should be okay

  37. the monk n phuntsho, is nt personal. there isnt any thing worth to describe the cunning PM and cunning leaders…..And abt ur comments.. i knew u all cartoons and dogs of DPT. 

    • I am sorry to say it, but you PDP horses will have to suffer us for another 6 years. Not even sure that your party will make it as the opposition this time around. So better start trying to make your party a little more respectable instead of bad mouthing the PM.

  38. People who are opposed to the Cabinet’s proposal must understand the context of their proposal fully. Otherwise you are just being a “frog in the pond”. What the Cabinet is proposing is to look after the needs of the people who have to be resettled or rehabilitated. That is different from giving land to land less people. That is a sole prerogative of HM. They are not proposing to give personal land kidu to land less people. Even today NLC gives government land to any other institutions without the consent of HM to build their offices or so on. They give land substitution to the people affected by developmental activities all the time. That is exactly what Cabinet wants to do it because they want to work for the people as land is a very important asset to Bhutanese people. Resettlement and rehabilitation requires lot of work and lot of resources that only government can plan and find it. It has to be properly plannned and integrate with the existing plans. Currently NLC takes care of the rehabilitation and resettlement work without the involvement of the government. Somehow they get budget approval from the MoF by merely mentioning as the Royal command. That is taking advantage of the system. The people in NLC are not meant for such work. They even cannot handle what they are suppose to do. So it is right for the Cabinet to take over this land issues so that they can holistically plan well. If people are not happy with the government’s decision, they can always seek personal or community Kidu from HM. If you send all the land related issues to HM, then you are a fool because HM has more pressing responsibility than looking into every Bhutanese’s land problems.

    The new bill seeks new membership of the NLC committee. That is more important for the government to take over because the present committee has not delivered their responsibility effectively. That is why we saw lots of problems with land substitution in Wangdiphodrang. Do you remember this issue was deliberated in BBS TV many times. It is not because of the government’s unwillingness to solve it. Even PM convened a meeting in Wangdiphodrang with the affected people to discuss on this issue. Nevertheless PM didnot have any power to make a decision on this because all the members of NLC where beyond his control. They were functioning as a separate entity. That is a hopeless situation for PM. He wants to solve the land substitution issues as quick as possible but he cannot. I understand why the Cabinet wants to take over this commission because they are the ones who is responsible for the development of the country, not NLC. They are reposnible to solve the land substitution problem.

    • what a weak rationalization for changing the constitution! 

      Try again.

    • Good light and it is definitely a good initiative. Unfortunately there are people like tinting who just want to make lot of noise but then it’s a sign of thriving democracy without which we can’t write comments in here. 

    • yes it is a sign of a democracy that people express opinions. And it would be even more thriving if people could could express more meaningful opinions with the help of more transparency in this government. Let BBS do live broadcasts, let the public see the way the MPs are voting (this is why they elected them!) instead of keeping that secret. Jesus H Christ! these guys have no idea what a democracy is. Now they’re fighting tooth and nail to scuttle the RTI act. PM is giving tshoda to the journalists etc etc.

      Now they want HM’s powers.

    • This cabinet is in no way capable of dealing with land. With a history of being involved in land corruption, the only thing they are capable of doing anything with regards to land is steal/grab it. “Developing the country” is one of many reasons (but the only reason) they will say to get those powers.

      Lets all keep the land away from them.

  39. Which ever party may win or rule, no such power should be given to them. they have enough resources at their disposal, work on that and bring development. it is unconstitutional and it is against the ppl’s will and we don not support such bills or wills.

  40. The cabinet led by JYT in their quest for more power will lead Bhutan into a dark age all in the name of democracy. The way i see it – right now we have the perfect status quo (the perfect balance of power between the King, the people and the government). But now with the cabinet’s ambitions, it may have tipped the balance and will not bode well for the country. The four year old government is trying to undermine the hundred and five year old monarchy. 

  41. The cabinet led by JYT in their quest for more power will lead Bhutan into a dark age all in the name of democracy. The way i see it – right now we have the perfect status quo (the perfect balance of power between the King, the people and the government). But now with the cabinet’s ambitions, it may have tipped the balance and will not bode well for the country. The four year old government is trying to undermine the hundred and five year old monarchy. 

  42. bhutanese guy

    If things are unconstitutional, make it constitutional simply change the act. (Have good times of five years term being majority.)
    If things are corruption, prolong the case hide the information simply covers up under the carpet. (Zero tolerance to corruption.)
    If things are uncertainty make ad hoc decision, simply issue the orders. (Wish to hit target in the dark.)

    This is our government elected by us, but next election wish to see parties with young & dynamic one with a motto to reduce the gap between rich & poor. The issues with this government are simply all because of those ministers who were as ministers & dzongdas prior election. Their mental states still at that stage of 19th -20th century, those days even if they say there is orange on the apple tree people used to say (emmbay la, yes la, la so la). So as our MP are now use to (emmbay la, la so la and yes la), seems no options.

    Anyhow, I also wish them a good luck for 2013 election.

  43. Kudos to The Bhutanese for bringing such an important topic for discussion.
    JYT and the entire DPT lot is wrong for our country on all counts. JYT will be a dictator if he runs the country for a second time. He must lead his entire DPT lot and bow out soon.

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